The Lost Prime
by Yuna Yami Mouto
Summary: Primes and their Lord High Protectors are made as twins, their sparks coming online together far from other Cybertronian life, protecting one another until the Herald of Primus comes for them. However, the Council can't allow that and the newest Prime goes missing,his Lord Protector tearing Cybertron apart to find him.Every war has its is one is just coming to A AU
1. Chapter 1

**The Lost Prime**

**Summary: Primes and their Lord High Protectors are made as twins, their sparks coming online together far from other Cybertronian life, protecting one another until the Herald of Primus comes for them. However, the Council can't allow that and the newest Prime goes missing, his Lord Protector tearing Cybertron apart to find him. Every war has its reason. This one is just coming to light. TFA AU**

He had been nothing but a miniature hint of a spark in a greater sea of sparks when something extraordinary touched his barely there consciousness, bringing him to high alert and awakening his sentience and individuality, just second before he was yanked out of that warm, familiar sea of peace and thrust into a cold world he knew nothing about. He was no longer a floating spark in the Well, awaiting his turn to get a frame out of Vector Sigma. He had one already, a strong and powerful one, durable, meant to fly and to protect. He could feel his systems slowly categorizing themselves into their right configurations and parameters and, for a little while, while he was alone in this world that all must endure at one point, it was all he knew and he knew that terrifying feeling as loneliness.

Then came another feeling, a new and stranger one that somehow warmed his spark and his frame all over, filling him with purpose. A spark especially created by Primus, one so pure and bright that, had he had the ability to open his optics he would have surely been blinded by. In its pure state, the new spark that onlined next to him was unbearable to be around and yet he wished nothing more than to _protect _and _preserve _this little spark. The other one was smaller, not as durable, not meant for fighting. He had different parameters and configurations, ones that were complementary to his own. As if the little one was made for him as much as he was made for the little one. How very intriguing. He was curious.

At the simplest thought of reaching out to the other, he was surprised when he felt the other's consciousness reaching back just as curiously. It was as if some long since ingrained instinct directed them and they opened up to each other. All sorts of feelings not his own rushed through his still not functioning - at least not for higher functions, not yet - young processor and he would have purred when he felt the other settle somewhere near his spark. He was not really there, but he could feel him, this other spark, his little spark. This one was _his _and only _his_. And he belonged just as much to the little spark.

Cybertron purred and Primus sent his approval as the bond snapped into place, strong even as young as it may be. The two sparklets just curled into each other in their nest of pure blue Energon crystals and settled into prenatal stasis, waiting for their time to come. He was a little startled with how easily the smaller one fell into stasis when he himself was still half aware. Yet he knew this was perfectly normal. He had a duty.

He must protect the other, even at the cost of his own spark.

He has no idea how much time passed, not that it mattered. They were slowly growing sparklings, their protoforms taking on their desired shapes, molding them for their future life. The little one seemed to remain smaller than him, even if they were developing and growing at a similar pace. Perhaps he will forever remain smaller. Only more reason to be so protective, he supposed. He, on the other hand, could feel that his protoform was being encased by strong, sturdy metal, forming thick plating that will help protect his spark as he grows older and faces what the world has to throw at him and the little one. He could feel himself developing systems and subsystems that his companion wasn't and the urge to protect only grew with each megacycle.

It was peaceful, like this. Just the two of them, surrounded by the song of humming Energon crystals, wrapped in the cocoon of ignorance and bliss, their energy fields always intertwined, their Creator's plating keeping them warm and safe and the planet's very Spark feeding their frames. It was bliss. He would have liked to remain here forever, just staying close to the one he must protect in this safe haven.

But all peace must come to an end when balance is not straight. One megacycle, in a joor any other would have been just another joor, he was awoken by the presence of others like him and his little one, only their fields and sparks spoke of no serenity and peace like the little one's did. The fields that brushed against his own were full of corruption and malice, almost as though the Unmaker himself had contaminated the sparks that must have come from the AllSpark, like every other spark. Whether they were or not was not his concern. They were too close to his little one!

His systems revved and his frame let out a fearsome rumble, startling the mechs who had gathered around the two sparklings. He gave a frustrated growl when he realized his systems were still not ready to awaken but he forced them, his most basic protocol to protect his little one urging his body to awaken as his processor already was. He just needed a little more ...

"This is bad. They are not meant to awaken yet." One of the intruders spoke, addressing the others. In later life, he will learn that the fluctuations in the mech's field were that of fear, as the mechs gathered around the two sparklings looked down at them.

"They aren't. Only that one is. He must be the Protector, then." Another spoke, barely held back contempt in his voice.

"It won't take long for all of his systems to come online." Yet another said and he was now getting agitated. There were so many unknown persons around his little one. He had to protect him. He can't afford to stay in this state!

"Then we must be quick. Before he wakes up." The fourth one ordered and dread filled him when he felt that one coming even closer, bending down, reaching for-

"We must take the Prime before Alpha Trion or that fool, Megazark, show up to claim them. The Council will want to raise this one themselves."

His Prime! They were taking his Prime! How dare this fools even touch that unmarred spark and frame! That was the conduit of Primus' will, he was his! The little one was _his _and only _his_! None shall claim him but he himself! None shall take him from him! He will fight Unicron himself for his Prime! Any who dare touch his Prime will _perish_!

His weapons systems growled and the mechs started backing away.

A shot was fired, scaring the mechs.

But it wasn't his. Someone else had released that shot.

And it was all that the mechs needed to make up their minds, one of them bending down against and _ripping his Prime out of their nest_, out of _his hands_! He struggled, frame jolting awake too soon, all systems coming online, his weapons humming, his protocols _screaming _at him to find his Prime, to protect him, to offline all those who dared touch that pure spark-

One of the mechs had stayed behind and now looked into the eyes of a red eyed little demon of a sparkling, nearly leaked himself, took out a blaster and shot the sparkling straight through the chest before transforming and driving away, _terrified_. And his world was all pain, pain in his frame, pain in his processor as his protocols were still demanding that he find his Prime, pain in his spark at the missing little one. Just onlined and fully conscious for the first time and all the new Lord High Protector to be knew was pain.

Pain and _betrayal_.

Corruption. Corruption of the very planet he was meant to serve with his Prime.

His Prime who was _stolen _from him.

"Frag!" A new voice joined the fray, and he revved his engine in warning, even if he was in no state to fight anyone. Let alone a mech whose entire hand could scoop him up like it was now. "Lord Megazarak! We're too late! The little Prime was stolen!"

A roar that was closer to a howl ripped through the air and he felt his plating crawl as he sensed the grief and despair. He recognized those feelings as amplified versions of his own. A mech like him, then, one who had their Prime stolen. Only his Prime was still online and he could still be saved. This mech's could not. His Prime was lost to the Well.

"And what of my successor?"

"Still online, but barely. He needs medical attention and I'm not sure if we'll be able to get him there in time."

The other mech came up to the one carrying him and took him out of that one's arms. This one was even bigger. The bi bot hummed. "He will survive. This one is a fighter. He has a Prime to get back. The AllSpark will not claim him until he is good and ready and I doubt he is willing to leave his Prime alone."

He fully agreed with that statement. His little Prime needed him. They were a pair. He refused to be left without his counterpart. He will find him, even if it takes his whole function! He revved his engine in agreement, earning a chuckle out of the bigger mech.

"And what of the Prime, Lord Megazarak?"

"I have contacted Alpha Trion and Dion. They will try to intercept those glitches and find the Prime. We must hope that they are successful. For now, let us take the new Lord Protector with us."

And so he was taken away from the nest that had been his safety and his bliss since Primus gave him and his Prime life. He could never return there. His place was no longer there. He was awake and Cybertron awaited its Lord High Protector and its Prime.

_He _awaited news of his Prime.

And soon they came.

Dion had apparently indeed been able to intercept the traitors to Cybertron itself - if they had stolen its new Prime - somewhere outside of a city by the name Iacon in the northern hemisphere of their planet and had even managed to secure the Prime, intent on taking him to Alpha Trion to protect in the Archives, only Dion was also intercepted. Somewhere, on the streets of Iacon, the loyal bot was found offlined and with no traces of the little Prime anywhere.

Megazark and all his forces fell into a state of grieving. Megazarak couldn't even look at the little Protector to be anymore. "Perhaps it is best for me to offline you now than for you to live without your Prime and grow mad." The big mech mused one megacycle, startling his companions. He was quickly wretched out of the mech's hold and into the arms of the medic.

"Don't you dare, my Lord. He is our world's future. His Prime is not dead yet. He would be, too, if it were otherwise."

A couple of decacycles later, he was made aware of the fact that his Prime was hidden somewhere, lost to both his rescuers and the ones who had wished him ill. "It will be up to you to find him, little one." Megazarak told him that megacycle, a flash of hope in optics as red as his. "We have done what we can."

An orn later, the current Lord High Protector's face appeared on the wanted list and Megazarak had to hand the little Protector to be to a trusted friend. "Terminus will hide you, so you can grow big and strong in order to find and protect your Prime. Stay safe, little one."

And Terminus did keep him safe, up until the Protector to be hit his youngling frame, several vorns later. He kept him safe and far away from the Decepticons as was possible, before he was found by the Elite Guard, a new regime with the Magnus at its head, and brought in, only to be executed. Luckily, Terminus had arranged for the youngling to remain hidden and the future Lord High Protector found himself working as a miner. He was strong, sturdy, with thick plating and clawed digits. A warframe, a flightframe, but close enough to an ordinary miner that he fit in and no one cast a second glance at him.

He worked like this, tirelessly and endlessly, for vorns and vorns on end, until he hit his final upgrade and something in him _stirred _upon seeing how his fellow miners were being treated. It had always been there, demanding attention, but he had been too young. Now, in his final upgrade, his battle protocols were mature and online and with it an ancient programing demanding he protect his people. He killed their supervisor, his first kill, and his spark contradicted itself with pain and relief. A lost life, several saved ones.

He was brought out of the mines and thrown into the pits, becoming a gladiator before he could reset his optics.

The pits awoke many of his other dormant protocols. Becoming the champion brought him, once again, in contact with Megazarak, only long since was gone the mech who had tried to save him. Before him stood a mad tyrant, brought to insanity by the loss of his Prime. The Decepticons were terrorists, not freedom fighters, as they had started out. He was pulling their people into war, tearing their planet apart, leading them to ruin.

He didn't flinch when he offlined Megazarak with a shot through the spark.

The Decepticons loved him. They recognized the little Lord High Protect they had been meant to save and who they had thought lost to them when Terminus was offliend. He had no opposition when he took over command, intent on leading the Decepticons towards a better future. Decepticons were the warframes of Cybertron, natural protectors of their smaller counterparts, the civilianframes. Decepticons naturally fell in line behind the greatest protector of Cybertron, the Lord High Protector himself.

He asked for his Prime to be returned to him. Civilly, might he add.

The civilians and their Council declared him a murderer and a traitor, someone who fights against the Prime regime and the new Magnus one, for killing the previous Lord High Protector, Megazarak. Decepticons were declared enemy of the state, the civilians forming their won pathetic little army, the Autobots.

So started the Great War.

It was hard, at first, to send his mechs out to kill mechs they were supposed to protect. It was hard pitting one half of his people against the other. But the more the Autobots preached about being cogs in the great Autobot machine, the easier it got because they no longer registered themselves as Cybertronians. Decepticons always thought of Cybertron, especially when the Autobots started pushing them off world. The were his people. The Autobots were starting not to be.

As the war progressed and heated up, both sides started doing things, unthinkable things, to each other. They broke so many rules of fair conduct and seemed to have set out to destroy each other. With every megacycle spent fighting, with every spark extinguished, the deeds became more horrific. The Decepticon Justice Division was as ruthless as the Autobot Science Division was moral-less. Long since were forgotten the eons when there were only Cybertronians. Now, there were only Autobots and Decepticons, two completely different factions with two completely different people, set out to annihilate the other.

He no longer asked for his Prime to be returned to him. He demanded it. For the sake of his spark and for the sake of Cybertron. For who will stop this war if not Primus' own chosen? Who will unite these two completely different people.

His Lord High Protector coding weeped for six million stellar cycles before the Autobots created the Omega Sentinels, started using their Space Bridges for military purposes and jettisoned the AllSpark through one, never to be seen again.

The AllSpark was the only means of survival for their race, he knew, so he abandoned a fruitless war and set out after it, all of his Decepticons searching. And four million stellar cycles later, he was slowly losing hope. He knew he couldn't return to Cybertron without the AllSpark and despaired to ponder what his Prime would think of such failure. He pushed on, never giving up, always keeping a tight grip on his leadership and a wary optic our for traitors (Starscream in particular), and finally, _finally_, he was rewarded.

They had found the AllSpark.

Or rather, the AllSpark had found a group of Autobots and _they _had found _them_.

He wouldn't let the chance pass up to finally start the beginning of the end of this accursed war. And with the AllSpark, he will find his Prime with far greater ease. It was practically within his reach when Starscream had decided to betray him. The explosive damaged him, yes, but it was more damaging to the Autobots' ship. It served more to disorient him, which gave the Autobots a chance to somehow fly them through a nearby Space Bridge despite the pitiful state of their ship. He had felt the AllSpark respond. He knew it had something to do with it.

When they were through, he immediately made his assault, demanding the AllSpark, only for the young mech he held to thwart him with the help of a cyberninja. At one point, they found themselves together in the cargo bay, just him and the little mech, and something in him stirred. Something that had practically been dormant since he had first onlined too late to save his counterpart. He had the Autobot pinned down, leaning over to inspect him closer, not wanting to believe it, blaming it on scrambled circuitry and motherboard due to the explosion, when the AllSpark lit up again. His spark pulsed and his Lord High Protector coding activated with a jerk to his systems that disoriented him enough for the red and blue bot to push him out of the vessel and into the planet's atmosphere and gravity pull.

He simply didn't have the time to contemplate just what had happened before his world went completely and utterly dark.

Until recently, when even _he _was losing belief that his Prime was still online, he would have welcomed it. But not now. Not when he was so sure it was the one, that the little Autobot he last saw was _maybe_, just maybe, his little one. His Prime.

Fifty long stellar cycles later, when he was jolted awake as a mere decapitated head without a body in an organic's lab who was using his biotechnology to build his own robotic empire, still burning with the AllSpark's energy, the first thing he saw when he connected his mind to the primitive system was _Starscream _daring to fight _his Prime_!

The Lord High Protector vowed to kill the seeker as soon as he repairs his body. Then, he will take his Prime and they will return to Cybertron. They had _much _to do. Starting with bringing the little Prime to Alpha Trion to be led to the Matrix of Leadership.

But first, he had to get his body back. It will take a while, but he was a patient bot. So he settled to wait.

In the meantime, he set up a surveillance net for his little Prime.

Megatron had already once lost his Prime.

He won't let it happen again.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Lost Prime**

**Summary: Primes and their Lord High Protectors are made as twins, their sparks coming online together far from other Cybertronian life, protecting one another until the Herald of Primus comes for them. However, the Council can't allow that and the newest Prime goes missing, his Lord Protector tearing Cybertron apart to find him. Every war has its reason. This one is just coming to light. TFA AU**

Practically all of Detroit was lit up with Megatron's 'resurrection' as the AllSpark Key put back together his body and reignited his spark. The Autobots below Sumdac Tower could do little more than shield their optics and quell the quivering of their plating as fear shook their bodies. They could not even prevent that when the Slagmaker himself landed in front of them with a heavy thud, his pedes crushing the concrete beneath. Lugnut and Blitzwing were celebrating while Starscream was debating what to do as the Decepticon leader stared down the Space Bridge repair crew that stood in front of him.

Bulkhead was the first one to attack, trying to take Megatron down with his wrecking ball and his strength, so used to being the strongest mech around he was. After all, he had somewhat been able to stand up to Lugnut the last time that had brawled with the Decepticons. But Megatron had a goal in mind, a goal these little Autobots were standing in front of and he was not about to be merciful. He had been denied this for too many millions of stellar cycles to be bothered with the ethics of his coding. The reward for his patience was within grasp and he was done letting it be just out of reach.

Bulkhead was pushed back with no effort on the Kaonite champion's behalf before he turned to Prowl, the cyberninja hurtling his throwing stars at the big mech. The gray bot just twirled one of his swords around a little to repel the attacks before charging the bot that had sliced off the remains of his injured servo. Cyberninjas may be trained better for hand to hand combat than even the Elite Guard mechs, but the sheer size and experience and power Megatron packed was more than enough to down the black, gold and cream colored mech.

Getting hit by an ax was not what he expected and he looked up to see none other than his little Prime standing there, venting hard and preparing for battle, a battle mask sliding into place. Blue optics burned with determination and bravery as the bot got ready to attack.

It was the first chance Megatron had to really look at his little one and his spark soared at the sight o him.

He was truly a masterpiece created by Primus himself. The Lord High Protector took in the red, blue and silver plating, the yellow details, the shape of his counterpart's frame, the finials, the shade of blue in his Prime's optics ... He was mesmerizing. He was strongly built, for an Autobot, taller than most, but now that Megatron knew with certainty who he was, it made sense. Broad shoulders and a trim, narrow waist with long legs and strong arms, blue faceplates and some very delicious looking lips, his little Prime was a true beauty and he wasn't even saying that because the mech was his. However, he was a little surprised to see his Prime was apparently trained to fight. And in the Autobot Academy, no less. For the Elite Guard.

He was really going to rip every last mech in the Council for this once he returns to Cybertron. Sure, it was good that the Prime will know how to defend himself in case of attack, but battles and wars were supposed to be the Lord High Protector's worries. The Prime is the civil and religious leader of their people. He is their connection to Primus himself, their Creator's conduit, his mouthpiece. The Prime is the guiding light and the Lord High Protector was meant to pave the road for him and their people. Prime and Protector complete each other. Sure, both could be warriors and neither should be soldiers, but the Prime should _never_ feel the need to defend himself if his Lord High Protector was around and online.

_'What have those accursed Autobots done to you, little Prime?'_ He thought to himself, staring into the determination filled optics of his other half. Which was why he saw the exact moment when shock and confusion filled them, the Autobot's startled expression clear even under that battle mask. That peaked Megatron's curiosity and he sent an inquiring sensation the same way he had accidentally sent his thought and watched as the red and blue mech twitched. The Autobot could hear him. Or at least feel some of his innermost thoughts. Or maybe it was because the thoughts were directed at him? An accidental communication link was unlikely _unless_ ... _'We still share a bond.'_

The unsteady, incomplete bond that they were onlined with as Prime and Protector, created with their close proximity and intertwining EM fields for extended periods of time. They were synced. Their sparks were on the same frequency. _They were linked_. They were very nearly bonded. Megatron's spark sped up in excitement and relief. There was still hope, then. The disappearance of his Prime was not an excuse for the Autobots to have stashed him away and brainwashed him. But where had he been? Why was he so _young_? And sure, Megatron's spark still held the impressions that his counterpart will be smaller than him and, yes, the red and blue mech _was_ a bit bigger than the Autobot standard, but he was still so _small_.

All questions that need answers, answers that can't be gained until they reach Cybertron and get in contact with the Herald of Primus. But that will take time and he seriously doubted either of them had Alpha Trion's personal comm link. Those questions will have to wait, for now.

For now, he blocked his Prime's attempted attack with his ax and put a big servo over the two smaller ones holding the handle of the weapon, for now ignoring the mech's struggles as he looked upwards to where his mechs were waiting. "Come to me, my loyal Decepticons!" He looked back to the one he was to protect when he felt a spike of fear in his EM field and he carefully put the smaller mech back down on the ground, still not letting go of his hands. That seemed to confuse the Prime and he stopped his struggling, frowning up at the Decepticon in suspicion. Megatron was distracted by the landing of his lieutenants and then his Second in Command when Starscream landed on Lugnut and started spewing his fake loyalties. Megatron frowned, tightening his grip on his sword in his free hand. The little Prime tensed, having seen the action, and was bracing himself. "Starscream, if you value your life, you will _never_ betray me again and you will _stop your lies this instant_ before I offline you myself."

The seeker stopped his rambling in poorly hidden shock at having been called out so bluntly on his lack of loyalty. Usually Megatron would ignore his platitudes and just punish him in some way without comment. Megatron was unwilling to risk it now, though. That bomb Starscream had attached to his back had nearly killed his Prime. Had he been inside the Autobot vessel when it had gone off, he and ship debris would have been the only survivors. That was unacceptable.

"I assure you, my Lord, my loyalty is sincere-"

"You do not _know_ the meaning of either _loyalty_ or _sincerity_, Starscream." He cut in, finally letting go of his Prime's servos, watched the smaller, younger mech take a few quick steps back but freezing upon seeing that he was not being stared at in a threatening manner. In fact, he seemed curious about the lack of aggression directed at his frame. Megatron took it as a good sign, focusing on him and trusting Lugnut to deal with Starscream if the seeker tried anything traitorous. Or his own protocols, which were going haywire with the jet's presence so close to his Prime. His protocols knew from past experience that Starscream was untrustworthy and dangerous and were _screaming_ at him to get rid of the threat. He squashed those protocols down, for now. He didn't want to scare his counterpart more than he already was. "Little Prime."

The Autobot - for now - seemed surprised that he knew his rank - oh, how Megatron _hated_ the Autobots for mocking that sacred title by making it into a military rank inferrior to the Magnus. He _despised_ it - but recovered quickly and narrowed his optics. "What do you want, Megatron? Because we won't give you the AllSpark!"

If the little mech was surprised before, he was downright flabbergasted now, when Megatron actually fell to one knee before him. He heard his Decepticons' sputtering behind him and the Autobots _yelping_ at his actions, but he ignored them. All he focused on was his Prime, who somehow looked both startled and longing. It would seem that he felt it in his spark, what Megatron was about to do. He was _anticipating_ it but didn't _understand_ it. Megatron just extended his larger servo with his hand turned upwards, palm open and revealing the child's AllSpark Key, offered to his Prime like a tribute and a sign of his devotion. That was actually enough to snap open the battle mask, once again revealing his Prime's faceplates.

Megatron bowed his head in reverence and spoke. "I only wish to pledge allegiance to you, my Prime, and offer you this as a token of my fealty. All praise Primus for keeping your spark online, my Prime. Our time has finally come."

"What the frag?!" Bumblebee, who had rushed down as soon as he had recovered from Starscream nearly turning him into scrap metal and had arrived just in time for Megatron's declaration, voiced the thoughts of all of the Autobots present. The Decepticons, however, have been waiting for this moment since Megatron had taken over the Decepticons and snuffed Megazarak's spark, millions of stellar cycles ago, so they could only gawk in astonishment that it was _finally_ happening.

"What's he talking about, Bossbot?" Bulkhead questioned, recovering only enough to shakily get onto his pedes, the cyberninja standing beside him remaining silent, contacting Ratchet and transmitting the events to him in hopes of the older bot explaining.

"I ... I don't know."

"You _do_ know." Megatron insisted, servo still outstretched. "I can tell your spark knows. _You_ know." The gray bot all but purred. "You just don't yet understand, little Prime."

"I have a name!" The firetruck finally snapped, getting a little annoyed at the way Megatron insisted on addressing him. He wasn't sure why he wasn't just snatching away the Key and running away, but something compelled him to stay and so stay he did.

The kneeling mech only _smiled_ up at him, pleased. "And I would very much love to learn it, _my Prime_."

"Why are you willing to give us the Key?" Prowl cut in when Optimus' intake hitched at the almost _teasing_ rumble the Decepticon was using. "We won't exchange it for the location of the AllSpark."

"And what's your fixation on Bossbot?" Bumblebee asked, trying to play tough as he aimed his stingers at the Decepticons while his protoform was still shaking from nearly having been thrown off of the top of Sumdac Tower.

"The Key is, as I've already stated, a tribute, a ... _gift_, if you will, which I am giving my Prime as a sign of loyalty. I figured we should be on amicable terms at the very least before I start courting him-"

"Courting!?"

"Amicable terms!? You tried to slag us!"

"My _name_ is _Optimus_!"

"Why would you have any loyalty to an Autobot Prime? Why would you give him gifts?"

_::Hold on, Prowl. Sari and I will be there in a klik. We got the ship up and running and we're ready to leave.::_ Ratchet said over the comms, prompting the ninjabot to bring a hand to his comm unit.

_::Ratchet, can you explain why Megatron would be giving up the Key to Optimus as a ... 'token of fealty'?::_

There was a long moment of silence before glyphs of panic, disbelief and something a lot like ... _awe_ and _hope_ came from Ratchet's end of the comms, startling the other four Autobots at the almost violent reaction. _::You better not be pulling my stabilizer struts, Prowl-::_

_::I'm not!::_ The offended cyberninja interjected, shutting Ratchet's rant up. The medic sent grumpy glyphs through the comm before ordering them to stay there and saying that he will be arriving shortly. And, sure enough, just a minute later, the Orion was hovering over Detroit, a ladder bringing Ratchet, and Sari on his shoulder' down. The old medic took in the scene in front of him and rounded on the kneeling warlord.

"Show me your coding."

"Ratchet!" The Autobots all exclaimed in shock and the Decepticons all bristled at the lack of respect, but Megatron didn't hesitate and revealed his medical port in his arm to the medibot. Said red and white ambulance ignored all the optics on him and instead stalked over to the Decepticon leader. Optimus was quick to take Sari off of him and placed her on his own shoulder, not wanting her all that close to Megatron as Ratchet was now, putting a medical cable into the exposed port. The medic's optics glazed over for a second before snapping back to attention and he stared at Megatron as though he was the second AllSpark.

"Primus," he breathed and Megatron huffed, moving to remove the cable from his medical port.

"Most certainly _not_." Optimus just looked between them, unsure what to do, especially when the Decepticon leader turned back to him and offered up the key again. Sari was just confused as she sat on his shoulder, warily watching the hulking mech. "Well, _Optimus Prime_? Do you accept my fealty?"

"This has got to be some sort of trick."

"Silence, you puny yellow _bug_!"

"Hey, who you callin' a bug, Blitzbutt!?"

"Will you two _shut the fragging pit up_!?" The squabbling pair shut up immediately at the yell from the medic, sheepishly looking away. Megatron and Optimus were still locked in a gaze, the Autobot's spark urging him to accept but his lessons from the Academy in his processor were urging him to run and fight and _deny_ the other. Except ... he _didn't wan_t to. Something about Megatron, his strong and wide EM field ... made him _relax_ and Optimus found himself reaching out without much input from his decision making protocols. Before anyone could register it, he was taking the Key, accepting Megatron's offering and Megatron himself, making the Key light up, and the AllSpark aboard the Orion pulse with power, acknowledging a pair made.

(Unbeknown to them, Cybertron itself quaked with excitement, Primus purring in its center, Alpha Trion shielding his optics from the blinding glow of the Matrix _demanding_ its Prime and chosen Protector.)

Said bots were probably the only ones not blinded or stunned by the reaction of the artifacts of power, their sparks urging them to come closer but not uncomfortably insistent just yet. They could settle for overlapping fields, their sparks fluttering in excitement over finally being together again after so, _so_ many stellar cycles. Megatron actually _purred_ in contentment at finally having his precious Prime _right there_, within reach. _Accepting_ him at last. The Lord High Protector coding he carried his whole function, mostly dormant, was now flaring to life, activating features and protocols that had been unavailable to him before without his Prime. Not everything was yet active, for that they will need the Matrix settled beside the smaller mech's- _Optimus_' spark, but Megatron felt better and far more powerful than he had in _vorns_. And he could _feel_ Optimus through their strengthened link. It was not yet a bond, they will need to merge sparks for that, but it allowed them an open, _private_ comm link that no one but _them_ could access. Only it was a little bit _more_ than a comm link. It will provide Megatron with the Prime's vitals and status and alert him to any danger Optimus might ever find himself to be. He even could feel his counterpart's _emotions_ to an extent!

It was practically just short of a sparkbond and Megatron relished in finally having this connection with the mech that was _stolen_ from him. Even if he had him now, the warlord will never forgive the Council and the Magnus for taking Optimus away from him in the first place.

They had been _sparklings_!

_'They don't _deserve_ mercy.'_

_'Who doesn't?'_ Megatron almost started when he heard Optimus' voice clearly in his head but the red and blue bot hadn't spoken a word out loud. There was obviously no need for a ping to gain permission to his comm unit when his Prime was calling. That was going to take some getting used to.

For Optimus' part, he wasn't sure _what_ he felt or thought about having direct access to another mech's comm frequency and vice versa, especially since it was the Lord of Decepticons. On the other hand, his spark was _singing_ in pleasure, as though finally finding that one thing that had been missing since he was brought online with other mechs and femmes of his generation within the youth center complex in Fortress Maximus, destined to go through the Autobot Academy and serve in the Elite Guard if he worked hard enough. He had been feeling almost ... _empty_, incomplete his whole life, trying to fill that hole in with his friendship with Sentinel and Elita-1 and then the team he was stranded with on Earth. He had never succeeded and had simply brushed it off as normal, accepting he probably had some sort of glitch. Now, though ...

Now he _knew_ why he had always felt that way because he almost felt _whole_ for the first time in his life. Instead of just taking the Key, Optimus actually placed his hand in Megatron's, their servos enclosing the Key between them. They AllSpark Key gave one more flash of approval before it settled down but the Prime was more interested in the happiness flashing in the Decepticon's optics. It's his reaction that mattered, after all.

Optimus was startled out of his dazed state when he heard the sound of four bots falling to their knee joins in reverence, helms bowed and servos over their spark chambers. He looked up and saw the remaining Decepticons and, to his great shock, Ratchet, on one knee, like human knights, before him and Megatron, completely and utterly humbled.

"Praise be to the AllSpark, for the Ruling Pair of Cybertron are reunited." Starscream said with true awe in his voice, helm still bowed, as though he couldn't _bear_ to show disrespect. "May Primus watch over the bonded pair."

"And may the Prime and his Lord High Protector lead Cybertron to peace." Ratchet finished and Optimus' optics went wide as saucers, as the human saying goes.

"WHAT!?"


	3. Chapter 3

**The Lost Prime**

**Summary: Primes and their Lord High Protectors are made as twins, their sparks coming online together far from other Cybertronian life, protecting one another until the Herald of Primus comes for them. However, the Council can't allow that and the newest Prime goes missing, his Lord Protector tearing Cybertron apart to find him. Every war has its reason. This one is just coming to light. TFA AU**

"What do you _mean_, Prime and Lord High Protector!?" Optimus fairly yelped, more than startled, staring at Ratchet as though he had turned into an organic. His question, however, was drowned out by his team's exclamation, who were even _more_ confused, as they had next to no idea about what Ratchet and the Decepticons were talking about. It was, unfortunately, to be expected as the Council had done their best to eradicate all history of the era of Primes from the populace's mind. Only someone who actively sought out to _learn_ their history would know about the religious, civilian and military, defense leaders of Cybertron that were Primes and Lord High Protectors. Unfortunately for their planet and their culture, Optimus was, quite possibly, one of the only ones - if not the _only_ one - who sought to learn about their past from before the Great War. Or even _about_ the Great War.

The Council had a tight grip on what was fed to the masses and most of Cybertron's current populace was far too _young_ to know about the dual reign of Primes and their Protectors. All they knew and all they were willing to accept was the Magnus and the Council under him, who treated the Autobots as replaceable cogs in a machine that was slowly falling apart.

The likeliness of any on Optimus' team save himself and Ratchet knowing anything about Primes and Protectors was less than zero.

"What's a Lord High Protector?" Bumblebee was the first to ask, forgetting all about engaging his stingers, instead staring at Optimus and Megatron, then at the Decepticons and finally to Ratchet, who had never looked so ... _not_ grumpy, would be the best description. If anything, one could say that some of the years he had gained additionally in the great war had been erased. He held himself, despite his kneeling position, a lot more ... optimistically? Hopefully? Yeah, hopeful sounded about right. It was as if all of hiy cynicism was drained away and in its wake something else had formed. Something not yet quite identifiable for young bots like the ones he was put on a team with.

"What do you _mean_, what's a Lord High Protector!?" Everybot flinched when Starscream lived up to his name and screeched. "_Everyone_ knows what a Lord High Protector is!"

"He's too young, you glitch! Now stop screaming before a wedge a wrench down your throat tubing!"

"As if you _could_, Autobot!" The seeker snapped at the medic, the two now not bothering with their earlier respect, more focused as they were on glaring at each other and throwing insults around like rice at a wedding. "Why do _you_ even know? And how _dare_ you to pretend to follow the old ways!? If you _know_ about Protectors and Primes and still obey the Magnus, then you are as bad as that corrupt Council!"

"I _know_ because I was a young bot in medical school when Nova Prime was offlined and Lord Megazarak went off the rails! And I am _not_ pretending to follow the old ways." Ratchet snapped back, glaring at the Decepticon SIC. If looks could kill, the Autobots would have had a super weapon a long time ago in Ratchet. "I've seen the prosperity of Cybertron under a Prime and a Protector. But that sort of system is _dangerous_. And I don't agree with the Council, either. Those mechs are just looking for ways to fill their own damn pockets and don't really give a slag about Cybertron and its people."

"Den why zid you remain with ze Autobots and not join ze Decepticons?" Blitzwing's Icy persona asked before shifting to his insane Random face. "We have oil cakes! Ah ha ha ha ha!"

"_Because _I knew what sort of madness would take over Lord Megazarak." The eldest Autobot present huffed, crossing his arms. Megatron just sighed and got up from his kneeling position but never moved away from his Prime. Optimus himself had nothing against that and instead watched the seeker and the medic duke it out. "Then there was some hope for him, when the Matrix started acting up again, only for the Prime to be lost to us all. I knew there was no hope for Megazarak and, if the new Prime was dead-" Every Autobot present flinched when Megatron snarled at the mere thought of such a scenario. "I knew there was no hope for the new Lord High Protector, either. I've read about what death of one entailed for the other. The new Prime's loss was feared by all who remembered the strong bond Prime and Protector shared."

"What are you talking about, Ratchet?" Optimus finally asked, stepping closer to the ambulance. "What bond?"

"You and I are twins, Optimus Prime." The gray Decepticon replied before the medic could. "Primus himself carefully shaped out sparks and connected us before sending us out of the Well to online on Cybertron so we can one day rule it together under his guidance."

"But your millions of stellar cycles older than me!" The red and blue bot gaped at the bigger mech in astonishment and disbelief.

"We did not online together. You were _stolen _from our nest, from _me_," Megatron growled again and Optimus felt a shiver run down his spinal strut. Oddly enough, it wasn't out of fear or dread. "By the Elite Guard. They took you away but _lost _you." He all but spat out the word and the Autobots all twitched again, as if begging to reach for a weapon and fight. "You must have somehow remained in stasis until the end of the war. Had they let us be, we would have come online together, as every Prime and Lord High Protector do."

"But you never told us _what _a Lord High Protector _is_!" Bumblebee complained, only to freeze up when all optics turned to him. The yellow and black car didn't back down, though. He was curious and he wanted answers. "Would someone please explain? Not all of us are history geeks like Bossbot!"

"You say that as if you should be proud of it," Ratchet grumbled to himself before clearing his vocalizer and turning to his young teammates. "Alright, you sparklings, you better listen up 'cause I ain't repeating this a second time." Prowl, Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Sari all nodded their heads, paying close attention to the medic. "Before the Magnus took power over the military and the Council over civilian affairs, there was a dual leadership on Cybertron, with a Prime and a Lord High Protector at its head. The Lord High Protector was the military leader of our people, tasked with the defense of Cybertron and all things and peoples Cybertronian in origin. He had to protect us form everything and, from what I know, only a warframe was ever chosen for that position. A Prime, on the other hand, was the civilian and religious leader of Cybertron. The two would come online together, somewhere deep in the Sea of Rust, when something happens to the old pair-"

"You mean to tell me that every Prime in the army has a Protector in the Decepticons?!"

"A _Prime_, not a military Prime, you uneducated glitch!" Starscream hissed at Bumblebee when his exclamation interrupted the red and white medic, who was glaring at them both.

"Same difference!" The minibot insisted with a snort. "What's the big deal?! You just used a different glyph!"

"That's the whole point!"

"I don't mean an Autobot Prime, Bumblebee." Ratchet cut in before it could escalate into a time-wasting argument. "I mean a _Prime_. Chosen by Primus to be his mouthpiece, the conduit of his will, the vessel of his power through the Matrix of Leadership. Practically a demigod, created to lead our people with the wisdom collected since the dawn of the universe at his disposal. A Prime. A _true _Prime."

"_My _Prime." Megatron all but purred but there was a dangerous glint in his eyes that dared anyone challenge his claim on Optimus. The mech himself was left gawking at learning that he was supposedly a demigod.

"Do you have any proof to support your claims to be this ... Lord High Protector?" Prowl asked, sending Megatron a long, calculating, suspicious look.

"Your medic just checked my coding. I imagine he found the proof you might be looking for." When the cyberninja looked at said medic, Ratchet just nodded. By this point, only Lugnut was still kneeling before his lord, everyone else having forgotten that this day had started out with them trying to slag each other in the wake of the current topic of discussion. "If you think I am simply doing this to get the AllSpark from you, your medic can scan Optimus' coding as well. You will see that I am not lying. Not that I _would _where this is concerned." He looked downright disgusted by the idea. "I've been waiting for this day my entire function. It is my duty as Lord High Protector to protect my Prime and our people and I was unable to do that for far too long."

"Maybe you couldn't protect ... m-me," Optimus, who still couldn't believe this was happening, whirled around to glare at Megatron as he spoke. "But you sure as _slag _could have protected our _people _and _prevented _this war from ever happening! You killed _millions _of mechs and femmes! How can you declare yourself _Protector _if you weren't protecting our people but _leading them into a civil war_!"

Megatron didn't know whether he should be pleased or ticked off. He had always known there would one day be a time when he would have this discussion with his Prime and, in his desperation to find him and have him at his side again, he had wished for it. Now, he wasn't so eager to have it happen.

"The Lord High Protector's _highest _priority is his _Prime_." The taller mech hissed, leaning down into the Autobot's face. "The Prime is the _heart _of all Cybertronians and you were _lost _because of those _fools _from the Elite Guard. Megazarak is the one who started the campaign to conquer Cybertron, driven _mad _with Nova's death and his failure to secure the succeeding pair. We were already at _war _when I wrestled power from him and asked for you to be returned to me so we can discuss peace. _Instead_, I was declared the enemy of the state and all warframes were _exiled _from Cybertron. I was left fighting a war and searching for you for _millions _of stellar cycles and every snuffed spark was _agony_." Heavy servos fell on the Prime's shoulders, grip tight but not painful. "The Elite Guard, their Magnus and their Council are a scourge on Cybertron's surface, poisoning our people into believing they were practically _drones_! The _only _reason me and my Decepticons could fight you _Autobots _was because your people didn't even see themselves as _Cybertronians_!" He was venting hard by this point. "That is what your _Autobot way_ does to our people, Prime. They rejected me and my protection and claim to be _Autobots_. Cybertronian warframes are _protectors _of our people. They automatically fall behind the Lord High Protector and the Prime. We had to go against our _basest coding _in this war, Optimus Prime, to save as many self-thinking individuals as we still _could_. The Council wants drones. The Magnus is more than okay with that. Cogs of a greater machine, _my aft_!"

"No, that can't be right." The Prime shook his head, but even Optimus knew he couldn't deny the truth when it had been right in front of him his whole function. When he had woken up in the military youth sector, he had already been nearly in his mechling frame with a number for a name until Kup Minor, his drill sargent, had given him the designation Optimus. The Coucnil wanted drones that they can manipulate and use however they saw fit. A Prime and his Protector would never be so easily controlled.

"I'm afraid it is, Prime." Ratchet said with remorse before coughing and quickly changing the glyphs he used when addressing the other. Optimus just frown, unsure with what to do or how to react. What _could_ he do? He was just an Academy washout. Maybe he could have done something if it hadn't been for that incident on Archa Seven. Maybe he would have become Magnus-

"WHAT!?" He was startled out of his thoughts when Megatron thundered like a raging storm, making, once again, all of the Autobots flinch. The warframes just exchanged questioning glances and shrugs. The gray Decepticon ignored everyone else, taking his Prime by the shoulders and all but shaking the firetruck. "What do you mean, if you became _Magnus_!?"

"U-Ultra Magnus was i-invested in me while I was still in the Academy," Optimus almost stuttered out, surprised with how swiftly Megatron had snatched him. "He said I had potential and that he regretted me taking the responsibility for what happened on Archa Seven. He said he had hoped I would succeed him as Magnus-"

All of the Decepticons snarled like caged beasts at that, engines rumbling in threat, weapons systems coming online while their weapons themselves hummed as they charged, as though the Autobot Supreme Commander was within targeting range and they were about to fire. Megatron had to have been the loudest and most dangerous growl out of the four and Ratchet flinched. The younger Autobots were mostly terrified out of their plating and Sari was holding on for dear life to her returned Key, as though that alone will be enough to protect her. Optimus just stopped talking and stared wide eyed at the bot that was his Lord High Protector.

"He wanted _vhat_!?"

"How _dare_ they!? Do the Autobots no longer have any respect for all things _sacred_!?"

"We should crush those bugs!"

"Those accursed _Autobot scum_ will _pay_! The great and glorious Megatron shall cast judgment upon them all when the Decelticons finally return to Cybertron!"

"The day of reckoning is here, little Autobots! Ah ha ha ha ha ha!"

"I will _kill_ him." The low whisper was a far scarier and more effective threat than any of the exclamations the other Decepticons made and Optimus shivered. And while his frame and his processor insisted he get away from the dangerous mech, his spark _purred_ in pleasure and approval, which kind of scared him. He had never been a bot to seek or approve violence and it freaked him out that he would at _any_ point approve of what Megatron was promising to do. The bigger mech must have sensed this through their new link, because he softened his tone as he addressed him. "You are the Prime. Cybertron is our shared responsibility, destiny and duty. Your spark is crying in outrage that something like this would be even _suggested._ It is an insult, to try and mold a _Prime_ into a lowly, worthless title like the Magnus. It is _treason_ of the highest degree."

"I don't think Ultra Magnus _knew_ Optimus was a Prime." Ratchet tried to defend, but even he sounded doubtful. It was too big of a coincidence. Sure, Oprimus was _good_, better than anybot Ratchet had seen since the war, but surely there must have been _others_. Why the _one_ bot that was meant for _greater_ things? It definitely smelled fishy, as the humans would say.

"And how likely is _that_, Autobot?" Starscream hissed. Ratchet wisely didn't answer, as any answer he might have had would have been an outright lie at this point. Ratchet liked his frame red and white, not gray, thank you very much.

"So," Bulkhead broke the tense silence that descended upon the mixed group. "What do we do now?"

Optimus immediately turned to Megatron, only to find those red optics already trained on him, expectant. "My team goes untouched."

The Lord High protector only shrugged. "I don't actively _seek_ Autobots just to offline them. They may not be aware of it anymore, but they are still my people, mine to _protect_. And your friends don't exactly register as _Autobots_ to me. Are you all not ... _washouts_, I believe your _Elite Guard_ would say? The misfits, the undesirables in their beloved _Autobot machine_? As long as none of them attack you or endanger Cybertron in any way, I see no reason why they should come to harm."

"Oh yeah!?" Team Prime all groaned when Bumblebee just _couldn't_ keep his intake shut. "Then what about the countless times you tried to offline us!?"

Megatron frowned at the yellow minibot, unimpressed. "I have spent the past fifty plus stellar cycles as a decapitated head in the lab of a pathetic little organic who built his robotic empire based on reverse engineering of _my_ coding and circuitry. The Dinobots were glitches and I do admit Soundwave was not exactly an innocent invention, but they were both prototypes for _my_ body."

"Wait, _you're_ behind the Dinobots incident?!" Sari gasped and Bulkhead joined her, asking the same question, only in regards with Soundwave.

"Only _partially_." The warlord just scuffed. "And, the last time _I_ checked, every one of you had stayed online. I don't see a need for you to make such a fuss _now_."

"Yeah, well, we almost _didn't_ come out online from a few of those fights!" Bumblebee kept accusing, actually daring to glare at the Decepticon leader. "And Bossbot actually went offline when we fought Starscream!"

A beat of silence.

Starscream started backing away, panic clear on his faceplates.

"What?" It was little more than a whisper, but it was quiet and _dangerous_ and promised a world full of pain. The Autobots weren't the only ones who shivered this time.

Bumblebee somehow remained oblivious to the change in atmosphere. "Oh, didn't he tell you? He attacked us when we were just settling in in Detroit, kidnapped some organics and _me_ and demanded that we hand over the AllSpark. We, of course, managed to save everyone and even keep the AllSpark out of his servos for a while, but then Starscream got it and started destroying Detroit, so Bossbot, naturally, went to stop him. They fought for awhile and then wrestled for the AllSpark on a blimp until it got ticked off, I think, and just decided to ... flare up? Anyway, Starscream disappeared to who knows where while Bossbot was left to fall _down to the concrete covered ground_. His frame was all but scrapped and he went offline. Gunmetal gray and all. No spark in his chamber."

"Oh, really?" Starscream was cowering by now, frame quaking in fear.

"Yeah. We thought Bossbot was a goner-"

"My Lord, please be reasonable! The Prime is online and just fine!" Starscream's begging cut Bee off and he watched with wide blue optics as the Decepticon leader, flanked by Lugnut and Blitzwing's Angry persona, stalked predatorily towards the seeker. "I swear I didn't know!"

"Megatron, I'm _fine_. The AllSpark brought me back-"

"TRAITOR!" Lugnut bellowed and Starscream transformed, jetting it out of there as fast as his turbo-thrusters could take him.

"_Starscream_!" Megatron yelled as he transformed and went after him, the other two Decepticons following after him, leaving the stupefied Autobots behind. Silence settled over the group as they just ... gawked after the four flightframes getting smaller and smaller before disappearing from view in seconds. Prowl, Bumblebee and Bulkhead turned that stunned stare to Optimus, who still didn't quite know what to make of all of this, Sari looking between all of her Autobots friends, waiting for a reaction. Just when things were starting to get awkward, Professor Isaac Sumdac ran out of his Tower and towards the Autobots, completely missing their relatively unharmed, if utterly shocked, states and the Orion hovering over the city.

"Optimus Prime! I am so sorry! I did not mean to help your enemy! Please forgive me for trying to repair Megatron! He tricked me, he said he was your friend-"

"Um, that's okay, Professor Sumdac," Optimus said, managing to find his voice. "It wasn't your fault. In fact, I think I should be thanking you?"

"Thanking me?" The middle aged human looked utterly confused by that and the lack of anger at what he had done. "What for?"

"For keeping Megatron alive. He's sort of ... our ally or something," Optimus offered uncertainly, watching in worry how the Professor kind of went as white as a sheet, his eyes lost focus, his body swooned and the man simply fainted. The Autobots and Sari just watched him in concern, none of them quite sure what to do. Sumdac still wasn't waking up.

"Do you think Captain Fanzone will take the news better?"

Optimus felt a helmache coming on.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Lost Prime**

**Summary: Primes and their Lord High Protectors are made as twins, their sparks coming online together far from other Cybertronian life, protecting one another until the Herald of Primus comes for them. However, the Council can't allow that and the newest Prime goes missing, his Lord Protector tearing Cybertron apart to find him. Every war has its reason. This one is just coming to light. TFA AU**

He didn't.

Bumblebee's question was answered just a couple of hours later, when the Autobots were already halfway through with repairing what damage was caused by the Decepticon Lord's brief rampage earlier on and the humans deemed it safe for them to approach, Captain Fanzone in the lead.

He didn't take the news any better than Professor Sumdac did.

He took them even worse off.

The policeman spent a good hour yelling at the Autobots for forming a somewhat alliance with the robots who had attacked Detroit on _more_ than _one_ occasion. None of them blamed him, exactly, as they kind of understood how fragged up this was from the human point of view. It was fragged up from the _Autobot_ point of view, too, but ... Well, it was a question whether two of the five friendly Cybertronians will stay Autobots for much longer. As Prime, Optimus is supposed to have no faction and Ratchet had seen the possibility of peace and prosperity under a Prime and a Protector and was all too eager to see this war end, so he will be following Optimus and become a neutral. What Prowl, Bulkhead and Bumblebee will do yet remains to be seen. So, yeah, they didn't blame Fanzone for losing his cool and shouting at them. In the end, the blond policeman just muttered about hating machines, warned them to tell the Decepticons not to make a mess and stalked off, leaving them to their work.

Thankfully, the mayor was just happy that Blitzwing, Lugnut and Starscream won't be destroying and damaging his city and that there won't be any more random automaton attacks from here on out.

And the people of Detroit quickly got used to giant _flying_ alien robots ... After Megatron caught Starscream, gave him a beating he won't ever forget, Sari repaired the seeker and their chases in Detroit's flying space finally stopped. Optimus had been rather surprised when human children had fearlessly walked up to where Megatron had come to greet him in the park a couple of days ago, gawking at the even _bigger_ robot and marveling at his weapons. Humans were quite the adaptable species. And quite a weapons-obsessed one, too. Optimus feared his partner will be a bad influence on them, but judging how much humans loved explosions, it might just be the other way around.

His partner ... That still needed some getting used to. Even after a whole human week had passed, Optimus still had trouble believing this wasn't some sort of recharge flux or, as the humans called it, dream. Him, a _Prime_! Who would have thought, right? Certainly not Optimus. He had honestly believed he was a failure, after Archa Seven, and yet here he was now, getting to know the mech that was apparently the other half of his spark or something. He certainly felt safe and comfortable enough around Megatron to know it was true and wasn't _that_ a shocker. After all, this was the mech who had tried to _kill_ him when he had attacked the Orion in an attempt to get the AllSpark. Megatron had explained that that was the first time in eons that he had felt Optimus since he had been stolen from their nest and it had taken him a while to recognize so bittersweet a spark signature because he could not _believe_ that they were together again. He had throughly apologized to the red and blue mech and his team, much to their surprise, although Ratchet had half expected it. It kind of made the grumpy old medic somewhat more receptive to the idea of Decepticons coming in and out of their base and hanging around them.

At least Optimus had managed to convince Megatron to help fix what he and his soldiers had damaged. That went a long way in getting the humans to accept them and his younger teammates to relax a little. Blitzwing and Bumblebee and Ratchet and Starscream still had snippy and sarcastic comments matches between themselves, but at least Lugnut wasn't threatening to use his POKE.

Getting to know the Decepticons was an experience in and of itself. Megatron aimed to spend as much time with Optimus, so their troops were of the fortune - or misfortune, depending on the day and who you asked - to spend a lot of time together. Learning about Vos' peculiar, unique culture, about what it's like to be a triplechanger and about the Gladiatorial Pits of Kaon was something Optimus would have been willing to give up all of his limbs for, so it was good that Megatron and his High Command took great pleasure in boasting to their Prime. They could go on for hours and hours on end and Optimus would just sit there, soaking it all up with occasional questions here and there. It got even more interesting when Ratchet joined in, telling his side of the story and revealing what life had been under a Prime and a Protector before the last Prime before Optimus was executed. Bumblebee, Bulkhead and Sari mostly got bored on days like those, but Prowl had started sticking around for them a lot more often.

The Decepticons never asked for the AllSpark again, nor made an effort to search for it. Ratchet kept swearing that this was a lot like what peace had looked like before the rule of the Magnuses started, warframes and civilians lounging around together and exchanging stories, drinking oil together. The Decepticons had some good stuff that eventually had Bumblebee and Bulkhead somewhat relaxing around them. Sari was just curious about the whole state of affairs on Cybertron before the Autobot-Decepticon war had started and the differences in their culture. And they were _so_ different after all these stellar cycles. The rule of the Magnus all but eradicated religion from their lives and the history they were taught was edited and reedited and almost completely rewritten that the Decepticons at times needed several breems to catch on to what event they were being asked about, much to their disgust. They didn't sugarcoat it, on either side, and they spoke in great detail about Primus, the AllSpark, the Matrix of Leadership and of the Primes. Optimus was even given several datapads, from the Decepticons and from Ratchet both, so he could read up on just what was expected of him once he takes up office when they get back to Cybertron.

And that was the one thing Optimus _truly_ didn't know what to think about. He had been born and was expected to rule Cybertron with Megatron as Prime and Lord High Protector. Everything he read about the positions, responsibilities and duties he was supposed to take up had his spark pulsing in agreement and satisfaction that he was finally doing what he was meant to be doing. It was intimidating, how many bots knew so much about something that was so vitally and deeply ingrained in his coding but that he himself was utterly oblivious to. There so many mechs depending on him, so many _things_ that depended on him and he hadn't been given any time to prepare. Megatron was at least willing to let him take it at his own pace, never intruding, never expecting more from Optimus than the younger was ready to give. He wasn't sure just how much longer the Decepticon Lord will be willing to exert this much patience, but he appreciated it. And he really needed the time to just get used to the idea, let alone start thinking about Cybertron and the changes he'd like to make.

He was pretty sure both he and Megatron agreed that the first thing they will do will be to end the damned war and unite the two factions into one people of equal rights again and take down the corrupt system that had led to this war in the first place.

There were so many things he used to contemplate as a young cadet at night, back in the Academy. The state of the Archives, the freedom of reading any material you wanted without needing to have higher security clearance, a little more freedom of movement, a less tense and rigid, less military life outside of the military, more relevant media outlets, more history and culture, the allowance to sell and buy energex, vosco and high grade, less Energon distributed to the military during peace time, no taxes on traveling between cities, bots not coming online with designations of meaningless letters and numbers and getting _names_ only upon their drill sargent's impression of them, the lack of true civilians because all bots were trained to _fight_ in the war, whatever the Autobot Science Division had to do to make the Autobots' their weaponry, practically putting mechs into _casts_ because of their frames ... He had shared some of these thoughts with Megatron and Ratchet and both older bots told him that it was his processor subconsciously protesting what was wrong with their planet with how the Council was leading it. Megatron sneered at the almost functionist regime while Ratchet explained how that even brought to the revolution in the first place. They left him with even more datapads, this ones about history. _Non-propaganda_ history.

They left him to it for most of his free time, when they weren't fixing up downtown Detroit. It had looked like little when they started, but Megatron had actually managed to produce quite a bit of damage. And the Decepticons were now busy with their own business, refitting a mine into their new hideout. The mineral component of the rocks blocked out scanners and masked spark signatures, so the mines were going to turn into a shared headquarters when they are finished, but until then, the Autobots were left with dealing with the damage they had left behind, much to the civilianframes' disdain. Megatron actually had the _cheek_ to not answer when Oprimus indignantly demanded they continue helping with the relief effort, for the first time not sticking to the Prime. Ratchet found it funny and told him to wait until they bonded to see the real extent of such behavior.

Optimus and the younger bots were left reeling from the implications, even though Optimus _knew_ that will have to happen as a part of their bond. He learned that much from all that he has read so far. That, too, was an intimidating concept, especially with a mech like Megatron. And here said mech was also incredibly patient, but Optimus could clearly see he wanted for them to get bonded a soon as possible. There were a couple of times Optimus was sure he had seen _longing _in that red gaze when it was directed at him. He couldn't really blame Megatron for _wanting_. Optimus found himself _wanting _it as well and he had only learned that he had an other half two weeks ago while Megatorn had been searching for him for hundreds of _vorns_! How the other could keep a cool and calm facade up so easily when he was finally presented with a chance to end all of that waiting, Optimus will never know and forever respect him for his restraint. He wasn't ready yet, even if his spark kept tugging and swirling in Meagtron's presence.

At least this they could wait a little, as opposed to many other things that Optimus wasn't ready for yet. Cybertron has waited long enough to have its Prime and Lord High Protector back in their rightful places.

"I swear I've had it with these humans, always asking where the Cons were!" Ratchet grumbled one fine day, as they were cleaning up the remains of their last, brief battle with the Decepticons. "What are we, spare parts!?"

"I'm actually grateful that they stopped stalking me when I'm trying to watch Earth creatures. I finally have some peace." Prowl commented and Bumblebee huffed.

"Yeah, well, _I _don't like it. I'm the hottest thing on wheels and yet they're not paying any attention to me? They _clearly _have no taste."

"Yeah, but the Cons can fly and we can't do that." Bulkhead pointed out as he held a metal beam while Bumblebee used his stingers to weld it into place. "It's the novelty of the thing or something like that, I think. Just like with Soundwave."

"Bulkhead is right. Soon enough, the Cons will be as everyday an occurrence as you guys and they'll stop bothering you about them." Sari reassured from where she was watching them work. She had offered to help with her Key but no one wanted a rampaging construction machine under a bridge. "The more the Decepticons hang pout in Detroit, around humans, the quicker they will get over the new and flashy that the Decepticons bring."

"Hm, maybe not, then." Prime commented as he moved a slab of concrete to a better position to be placed, later. "After his experience with your father, Megatron would like nothing else than to spend as little time around humans as he can, but he has been indulging me so far because they still didn't have a base of operations. Now that they have found it and have actually something to do, I rather doubt it that he and the other Decepticons will hang around Detroit much."

"But that's so not fair! I had just convinced Blitzwing to let me ride in his tank mode! What girl got to say she rode in a tank?"

"What bot got to serve under a _real _Prime?" Bumblebee countered. grinning at the firetruck, who smiled indulgently at them both.

"What bot got to learn they _are _a _real Prime_?"

"Okay, you win." Sari said with a giggle which was cut off when her Key suddenly started acting up, a beam of light shooting up towards the sky and tracking a falling fireball as it said across and towards Detroit. "Something tells me that's not a meteor."

"How can you tell?" Bumblebee, who had not seen her and Prime tracking the beam with their gazes as he had been too busy staring st the flaming thin falling out of the sky, asked in confusion.

He followed Sari's eyes as they fell on the glowing AllSpark Key. "Call it a hunch."

Optimus sighed and signaled for the others to follow him before heading out. He didn't need to check whether the others were following him since Prowl soon enough fell to his side, Ratchet just behind and Bulkhead and Bumblebee just behind their medic. They used their sirens to get faster through the traffic and were on the scene - in the park - rather quickly. Captain Fanzone had set up a perimeter to keep the humans away in case the _giant alien spaceship_ proved to be hostile and there would have been a time when Optimus assured him that it wasn't necessary, that the Elite Guard were the good guys. But seeing as Earth, Detroit specifically, was currently housing not only five Autobots - and three Dinobots, although while they carried Autobot symbols and their optics were blue, they weren't exactly loyal to anyone but themselves - but also four - five if you counted Blackarachnia, who no one had seen since Ratchet blasted her off of the Orion's hull - Decepticons, that might not be so true. Not to mention the fact that they had _stolen _the Prime and were strictly _against _the Prime-Protector regime, so they might act out against Optimus if they found out he now knew his heritage.

For that reason alone, as he waited for the ship to open and reveal who had come to visit Earth - he had a pretty good guess about at least one occupant of that blue and silver ship - he reached out to his Lord High Protector through their link. _'The Autobot Elite Guard have just landed in the park in the middle of Detroit.'_

_I am aware, my Prime._ Came the immediate response and Optimus repressed the urge to shiver. This time, it wasn't because he wasn't used to the sensation. This time, it was because of how _right _it felt. That and, as a cadet, Optimus had had a thing for Megatron's voice, when he had been scouring the Hall of Records for his speeches. Deep, velvety, half a rumble and half a growl, it had a certain way of making Optimus' frame heat up. But this was not the time for that and he focused on the situation at hand. Not quickly enough, though, as he felt his counterpart's peaked interest. Megatron, thankfully, also brushed it aside for the moment, focusing on the fact that the Prime was left alone, with only his friends, to deal with an unknown number of Elite Guard mechs. _Try to stay inconspicuous, don't reveal that we are here and that you are aware of your heritage. I've sent one of my most capable spies to distract them and I have sent a few days ago a request to Professor Sumdac to find a way to make us signal dampeners. He is installing them as we speak. We will try to be there within the groon._

Optimus almost asked which spy they should expect, only the bay doors opened and revealed ... Only three Autobots. Although, seeing as one of them was indeed Ultra Magnus with the Magnus Hammer, numbers weren't exactly a problem. With its power over electricity, anything with circuits or metal in its construction was vulnerable. He recognized one of the other two bots, too. Sentinel Prime, now. His once friend who had been hating and humiliating him for the last thousand stellar cycles, after what happened to Elita-1. The last one was a white and gray mech with blue streaks on what would be the hood of his alt mode, a mech who held himself and moved in a way awfully similar to Prowl's. Probably because he was a cyberninja, too.

_::Guys, look sharp and play along. And _no one_ is to even mention the Prime and Lord Protector thing, okay? We can't take them down on our own and they are bound to react aggressively to a Prime's presence. And don't go mentioning we have a truce with the Decepticons.::_

_::Acknowledged.::_

_::Sure thing, Bossbot.::_

_::I know, I'm not glitched.::_

_::Got it, Bossbot. Sari says she won't say a word, too.::_

As one, the Earth bound Autobots - for now - saluted the Autobot Supreme Commander as though they were still blindly following the Autobot cause and haven't been fraternizing with the enemy for the last two Earth weeks. "Commander Ultra Magnus. Welcome to Earth, sir. It's an honor-"

"Jazz," the blue and white bot said to the probably-cybeninja, cutting Optimus' greeting off._ 'Rude.'_ He felt Megatron half snort, half growl from the other side of their link, obviously displeased his Prime was receiving such disrespect. He almost giggled at the other's overreaction. Ultra Magnus' order definitely made him sober up, feeling as though someone had dumped him in snow. "Set up a force shield to quarantine us from the organics."

"You sure that's necessary, Commander?" The white, smaller mech asked, gazing at the humans standing behind the saluting Autobots. Sari hid behind Optimus' pede, almost as if she knew where this was going. Optimus certainly did. "I'd like to get a closer look."

Sentinel, in all of his big-chinned glory, huffed. "You might feel different when the slime they spew out melts through your armor plating and rots your circuits from the inside." The blue bot with orange detailing turned to the red and blue Prime. "Isn't that right, Optimus old buddy." And with that, a panicked Jazz activated the force shield, trapping the organics out but keeping the Earth bound Autobots in.

_::Something tells me the old Salgmaker isn't going to be happy about this.:: _All of Team Prime winced at the truth behind Bumblebee's statement and hoped Detroit got out of this with minimal damage.

Megatron was definitely not going to like this.


	5. Chapter 5

**The Lost Prime**

**Summary: Primes and their Lord High Protectors are made as twins, their sparks coming online together far from other Cybertronian life, protecting one another until the Herald of Primus comes for them. However, the Council can't allow that and the newest Prime goes missing, his Lord Protector tearing Cybertron apart to find him. Every war has its reason. This one is just coming to light. TFA AU**

Megatron was seething with rage as he watched the security footage from one of the traffic cameras near the park where the Elite Guard had parked their ship from the newly installed systems in their mine hideout, barely resisting the urge to storm out there and retrieve his Prime while ripping the ship apart with his bare servos, but, thankfully, he couldn't. Not yet, anyway. Professor Sumdac was still installing the new signal dampeners in place. Without them, as soon as he left the mines, the Elite Guard will be able to pick them up on their ship's sensors and they'll be ready. That might just put his Prime and his little team in danger and his coding as well as his spark almost tortured him at the possibility.

Yes, he had wanted his Lord High Protector coding to come fully online for his entire function, but he had never realized it would be this much of a pain, both figuratively and literally. He'll have to think some of his usual plans more throughly before he starts executing them. He had a Prime to protect now. Failure to do so was _not _an option.

"Will they be alright?" Professor Sumdac asked worriedly as they watched the Autobots being led into the belly of the ship by the Elite Guard and the little human nearly flinched from all the growls the Decepticons were letting out. Megatron's protector coding wasn't the only coding that had come online in the presence of his Prime. It helped - or not, depending on perspective and the bot you asked - that the Earth bound Autobots really didn't act like Autobots and were all instead so very ... _different _from what the normal Autobots standards were. If they ever officially state that they are neutrals - Cybertronians - then Megatron and his troops will never be able to attack them again, instead seeking to protect them.

Decepticons were warframes and warframes fell in behind the Lord High Protector on a deeply ingrained instinct. They were meant to protect the smaller, weaker civilianframes and their planet. The Great War has twisted many things. Hopefully, he and Optimus will be able to put everything back to how it used to be.

"They will be just fine, as long as none of those big mouthed fools decides to blurt out anything about our presence here, the alliance or the fact that both Prime and Lord High Protector were preparing to return to Cybertron and take it back from our greedy Council's hands." Starscream replied snidely, glaring at the screen. This, at least, was familiar. And it was nice to have Starscream back on his side. He at least knew that Starscream won't be making any attempts on his life anymore. The seeker had started trying to offline him only after the search for his Prime and for the AllSpark had started looking like a fruitless endeavor, believing their forces could be better used to blitzkrieg Cybertron. Now that they had both, the seeker was much more willing to stay simply the Second in Command of the Decepticons and not the Supreme Leader of said faction.

Not only that, but Starscream also wasn't stupid. With the Prime around now, Megatron won't simply overlook his little schemes and will instead just offline him as soon as he suspects something. Starscream was ambitious but he was also a coward. Megatron's anger on a good, regular day was a nightmare. Megatron's anger now that his Lord High Protector coding was fully active would be Pit.

"We should still not take any chances, Lord Megatron." Blitzwing's calm persona commented. "Zey might try to take them away now, while they are still on their ship."

"The Autobots are lowly enough to do something so dishonorable." Lugnut agreed, nodding as if it was the wisest thing he has ever said. Who knows, maybe it was.

"But they won't. Not without the AllSpark, which Optimus has been so kind to leave in our servos." It was a good idea, to keep the AllSpark here, where the carbon and minerals in the rocks kept every signal inside hidden to the outside world. What story his Prime will spin to explain the lack of the AllSpark remains to be seen.

The Decepticons had been surprised by the blind show of trust the red and blue firetruck had showed, but Optimus had just shrugged and explained that if they had a mind to betray them, they would have done so already. Besides, his spark told him Megatron was sincere and none of the Decepticons present had the backstruts to cross him, especially not now. Megatron swore he will live up to Optimus' expectations.

Which is why they had to get the Prime and his team out of the Elite Guard's hands, as soon as possible.

"There. Finally, it seems to be working." Professor Sumdac sighed in relief as he scooted away from where he had installed the small chip. He and the little human inventor had to have a serious talk about their interactions so far. Megatron apologized for using him as a puppet and Sumdac apologized for using Megatron's biotechnology to make his own empire. To make it up to each other, Sumdac would make these signal dampeners and give them any building materials for the Cons and Megatron, in turn, won't try to get any of said materials by illegal means or cause any more damage in the city. They both apparently got over their dislike of each other quickly enough, although Megatron was still uncomfortable around the human who had been using his hand for a _chair_. Needless to say, Megatron will never offline his optics in the little man's presence.

"Incredible. You are standing right in front of us, my Lord, but I am not picking up your spark signature." Blitzwing marveled and Megatron nodded in thanks to the Professor.

"Good. But can you please make the process a bit quicker? Optimus needs me."

"Oh, it won't be a problem now. I know where I need to attach the chip now, so I just need to do that, as opposed to all these trials and errors." Sumdac reassured, already heading for Starscream to start his work. The seeker tried not to flinch when the organic started working under his plating.

"Didn't you send out that accursed femme to distract the Elite Guard already? I thought that'd buy us some time, what with the Autobot general xenophobia."

"The sooner we get my Prime and his team out of the Autobots' hands, the better, Starscream."

"No doubts there. Huh, that was quick." Sumdac was already closing Starscream's panel and gesturing for Blitzwing to give him his arm.

"What is your grand and glorious plan, master?" The hulking Decepticon asked, training his five optics on Megatron. Megatron thought it over, before a smirk crossed his lip plates.

"We wait for Blackarachnia to report. When she's in position, we'll have her lead the Elite Guard out of the ship and towards the woods, where we will prepare an ambush. The sooner we get that Hammer out of Magnus' hands, the better."

"What if they keep our allies in their ship, my liege?" Lugnut asked when Sumdac clambered up to his arm to install the final chip. After they take Team Prime back, he will have to install more on them, because surely they will be considered either kidnapped or traitors and everyone will be on the lookout for them.

Megatron went to answer, but stopped when Optimus spoke up over their link. _Ultra Magnus is going to condemn us for the loss of the AllSpark. He has my team staying on the ship and I am meant to lead them to the 'place of battle' to prove my story. Can you have your spy extract my team? You'll have a clear shot at taking me._ His Prime all but promised and Megatron furrowed his optic ridges. That did not sound good.

_'Just what did you tell them?'_

Optimus sounded sheepish as he replied. _Um, I may have overexaggerated our battle and said that in our struggle to keep the AllSpark out of your hands, I kind of, may have ... dispersed it._

_'You _destroyed_ the AllSpark?'_

_Dispersed_, the younger corrected and Megatron got the impression that the red and blue mech might be pouting. _My team is supporting the story, but the Elite Guard don't believe there are Decepticons on Earth since your signals are successfully blocked._

_'Isn't that a good thing?'_ It sounded like a good thing to him. It made operating in Earth that much easier. It will also give them an element of surprise when springing their allies free.

_Not really, since they're trying to take us back to Cybertron. They'll probably try to utilize Prowl - cyberninjas were always high on demand but low in numbers and even more rare in factions - and they'll definitely court martial me before throwing me in the Stockades. I don't know what Bulkhead's and Bumblebee's fate will be. You _need_ to get them out ASAP._

_'How many Elite Guard are on that ship? How many are going with you? How many are staying behind?'_

_Only Ultra Magnus and two others, one of them a cyberninja. He's staying with the ship. Ultra Magnus and Sentinel Prime-_

Megatron snorted in disgust. _'Please refrain from calling him a Prime. Say 'commander' or 'commanding officer' or _anything_ else. Only _you _are a _Prime_.'_

Optimus gracefully ignored his short outburst and continued as though he hadn't said anything. _Are the ones coming with me. I personally think a Decepticon sparkling could take care of Sentinel, but you might need some help with Ultra Magnus. I'm bringing them to the woods, far from your base. I'm sending you the coordinates. You think you might be able to set an ambush there?_

_'Consider it done.'_ He turned back to his soldiers after receiving a wave of gratitude over their link, focusing on his comm frequency with Blackarachnia and on the three Decepticons in front of him. "Change of plans. Blackarachnia is to wait until Utra Magnus, Optimus Prime and a third party leave the ship to extract the Earth bound Autobots-"

"We definitely need a new name for them, ah ha ha ha ha!" Blitzwing's Random persona said with glee before his Icy persona quietly apologized for interrupting the Decepticon Lord. Megatron was far too used to this slag.

"And bring them safely to the hideout. Starscream, Blitzwing, Lugnut, you are with me. We will be retrieving the Prime and facing Ultra Magnus. The third party is of little consequence."

"Yes, Lord Megatron," came the confirmations, including Blackarachnia's ping. And, just like that, the Decepticons were mobilizing, heading for the coordinates that Optimus had sent them or the Steelhaven, in the case of their techno-organic spy. Megatron immediately understood why Optimus had chosen the location he did. It was quite a bit further out of the city and, therefore, humans, so they didn't have to worry about squishy organics getting hurt. It was a high road riding in the mountain, on a sharp cliff that dropped to a remote beach of Lake Erie with only a little expense of forest in between. It had a lot of open air for maneuvering but the trees bellow would obscure the Elite Guard's view of their flying foes. A good strategic placement.

And good timing on Megatron's part, too, because just as they hid behind the cliff overlooking the road, the three civilianframes appeared within view, Optimus taking the lead. Seeing a good opportunity, Megatron ordered Lugnut to launch a missal at the road while telling Optimus to wait for his signal before accelerating. Optimus confirmed and the Lord High Protector waited until Optimus was behind the curve of a bend to order Lugnut to attack and ping Optimus. The Prime hit the gas and got out of the way just as the missal landed mere meters away from the two Elite Guard mechs and the road crumbled. The warlord winced at the damage done. Optimus will most definitely insist on the Decepticons repairing that one.

The Elite Guard couldn't stop their fall and no doubt received quite a few dents along the way until they were buried under rocks, dirt and concrete. Optimus had stopped and was peering down at them from the road as the Decepticons appeared overhead, transforming in the air and hovering over the two mostly blue bots. Ultra Magnus was the first to appear from underneath the rubble, Magnus Hammer held tightly in hand and already crackling with electricity. Megatron held back a grimace at the thought of what that ancient weapon might do to his circuitry, instead planting a smug smirk on his dermas.

"Ultra Magnus, what a pleasant surprise. What might bring you to _this_ little organic planet?"

"Megatron." The Magnus said with little emotion, displeased to see the warlord as disgusted as Megatron was to see him. "I see that Optimus Prime's story is correct."

"Oh, Optimus _Prime_'s story is correct, alright." The larger mech replied with a sneer, glaring at the Magnus now as his companion got out from under the rubble. He didn't hold it against his Decepticons when they started choking on their own laughter. That was ... quite a _chin_ the younger Autobot sported. Megatron had never seen that big of a chin on any bot and he had seen some ... quite _interesting_ Decepticons.

"Optimus! Just wait until I get my servos on you! This as _all_ your fault!" The blue and orange bot yelled up at the Prime, who was perfectly safe and perfectly unharmed back on the road. Optimus just cocked his head down at the yelling mech, an unreadable expression on his faceplates.

"And how do you figure that?" Starscream asked, a frown on his face, looking between the three civilians. There was a suspiciousness in his EM field that had Megatron on high alert. Starscream wasn't just a air-force strategic genius, he was also incredibly competent when figuring out social undercurrents and hidden motives, having quite a few hidden motives himself. He had never been led astray, had never judged an interaction wrong. Seekers were usually taught to read social situations since an early age. Megatron knew he could always trust Starscream's judgment when it came to interactions like this.

"It's always his fault!" Megatron figured that this must be that ... Sentinel Optimus had mentioned earlier. Even he could tell there was some ... distaste between them. If anything, the way the blue Autobot was glaring at his Prime was clue enough. It made Megatron's confused frown turn into a glare almost instantly. "He's a glitched Academy washout that can't even lead a crew of repair bots right! He shouldn't be trusted with another bot's life, he'll just _ruin_ them!"

"Oh, for _frag_'s sake, Sentinel! What happened to Elite is as much your fault as it is mine! I at least took responsibility!"

"As you _should_ because it was all _your fault_!"

"And just _who_ wanted to search for that old Decepticon warship? Certainly not _me_. I _told_ you, _repeatedly_, that we shouldn't _be_ on Archa Seven but you wouldn't _listen_. I thought you'd wisen up a bit, but I can see I've set my hopes up too high." And while the two young mechs were arguing, the Decepticons had went from passively listening with interest to _growling_. Megatron powered up his Fusion Cannon without much thought, enraged on Optimus' behalf. That, however, drew Ultra Magnus' gaze away from his arguing subordinates back to the Decepticons and the warlord figured now was as good a time as any and fired upon his enemy. Magnus dodged at the last second, rolling with his dodge and stopping on one knee, using the Magnus Hammer to bring lightning down upon the Decepticons. But they were ready for it and immediately fell into evasive maneuvers, firing back some of their weapons down on the two Autobots. Sentinel, though, brought up a fairly strong shield that managed to stop their attacks. Ultra Magnus didn't attack while the shield was up, but he did strike as soon as the younger mech lowered it to try and engage Starscream.

He wasn't doing so well until Magnus managed to get a hit in, bringing the seeker down to his knees. Blitzwing was immediately there, deep freezing Sentintel while extracting the fried Vosian out of the situation, only for a stray bolt of lightning to strike one of his thrusters. He managed to land them close to the water, froze the surface and bolted underneath just as Magnus tried to eradicate them both. He resurfaced without Starscream and spewed fire, making Magnus dodge and jump right in front of a shot from Megatron's Fusion Cannon. Sentinel was back at his Commander's side, shield brought up just barely in time to absorb most of Lugnut's missals' explosions. Magnus once again attacked as soon as the shield opened and his lightning strikes were too fast for Megatron to aim correctly before the shield was back up. Starscream would have probably had better luck. Seekers were the fastest fliers on Cybertron and had special coding that allowed for fast shooting. But the Hammer had no doubt fried and frazzled quite a bit of Starscream's circuitry. He won't be getting up until a medic sees to his repairs.

The Hammer strikes again, this time grounding Lugnut, as it had short-circuited his entire left side. Even with thrusters meant to hold up three times his weight, Lugnut couldn't fly steadily and had to stick to the ground, where a lumbering mech of Lugnut's size was at a grave disadvantage. Megatron was so far the only mech not even grazed by the lightning, but it was only a matter of time. He fired his cannon a few more times and even managed to _somehow_ get a lucky shot in and blow off one of Ultra Magnus' antennas, but the Magnus only winced and prepared to aim again.

He never got the chance as something red and blue slammed into him and Sentinel, sending all three civilians rolling. Megatron and Lugnut paused in their next attack, Blitzwing went back underwater to check on Starscream, the two remaining Decepticons watching the pile of squirming colorful mechs before one bot stood up.

The Magnus Hammer crackled with electricity.


	6. Chapter 6

**The Lost Prime**

**Summary: Primes and their Lord High Protectors are made as twins, their sparks coming online together far from other Cybertronian life, protecting one another until the Herald of Primus comes for them. However, the Council can't allow that and the newest Prime goes missing, his Lord Protector tearing Cybertron apart to find him. Every war has its reason. This one is just coming to light. TFA AU**

When Optimus had jumped off the cliff, fired his grappler to a tree on the side and swung at Ultra Magnus and Sentinel, it had been a half processed thought at best before he was acting. It was unusual for him, but the Decepticons were taking quite a beating, the Magnus Hammer frying their circuits and Starscream had nearly offlined from an attack. Optimus didn't want them to get any more hurt on his behalf, so he jumped into the fray with little to no additional thought than to time his maneuver. He hadn't really thought he'd be successful, but he had somehow managed to do it and had slammed into the two Elite Guard mechs, surprising them enough to bring them both down to the ground. They rolled a few times before they were all but an entangled mess on the forest floor and all Optimus could think about was that Megatron was going to need a clear shot and he couldn't let the Magnus get one, too.

So he let his battle protocols and his spark guide he, feeling his hand wrap around a shaft that could have been his ax or something else and he jumped to his pedes, venting hard, circuits cackling with energy.

Only when Ultra Magnus stood up without his Hammer did the Prime realize it was in _his_ hands. Definitely not his ax. The Prime looked down at the weapon in his hands and frowned, looking back at the Magnus. Behind the Magnus, Megatron was watching him with wide optics. Blitzwing resurfaced with a little better looking Starscream, the seeker at least able to move his head as opposed to his earlier near immobilized state. Sentinel was gawking at him.

"Optimus Prime," Ultra Magnus called in his best disappointed and disapproving voice, one that nearly had Optimus flinching when he recalled the last time it was he heard it, right after he had taken full responsibility for Elita's death. Once, he would have felt shame at having that tone directed at him but he was supposed to be a _Prime_. And after learning what he did and feeling Megatron's support through their link, Optimus was no longer one _bit_ that cadet that he had once been. He had people depending on him. He couldn't, _wouldn't_ let himself be affected by that tone. "Return the Magnus Hammer to me at once. We are in the middle battle and I _need_ it in order to fight the Decepticons."

Optimus took one look at the battered but proud warframes standing before him and his backstruts straightened, his hold on the handle of the Hammer tightening. "I'm afraid I can't do that, sir."

"Optimus, _what_ are you _doing_!?" Sentinel hissed at him from where he was still sitting on the ground but Optimus' optics never left Ultra Magnus, even as Megatron sent confusion and inquiries over their link.

"And why not, Optimus Prime? Are you disobeying a direct order?" Prime even understood the slightly incredulous edge that just barely showed in the Commander's tone. Optimus had once been quite like Sentinel, by the book through and through. Those times had changed. The Autobot rulebook was not one he could follow when he had loyal mechs ready to give their sparks up for him.

"Because I am Optimus Prime, so what if I am?"

"Your response follows no logic."

"I think it follows quite a bit of logic, Ultra _Magnus_." He made sure to put enough emphasis on the title to make his point clear. Judging by the twitch of the Magnus derma, he was suspecting it but not quite up to believing it yet. "I know I kind of turned it around, but someone like Megatron and someone like me have to look out for each other."

Ah, the bot got it now, judging by the glare he was sending Optimus' way. It made Optimus wonder if the Magnus had indeed known who Optimus was. It didn't really matter. The message was clear. All of the older generations, from the war and especially before the Great War, knew who and what Megatron was. Optimus may be speaking in riddles to someone from his generation, but he was perfectly clear to the Magnus.

"So he has poisoned your mind with his tricks, Optimus?"

"That is Optimus _Prime_," the red and blue mech corrected, proud and sure as he never remembered being. This was ... probably the first time he had introduced himself with his proper title. If there had been a time before this one that he had done so, he didn't remember, but his spark _sang_ with pleasure. "And my mind is just fine. I simply learned the truth."

"Deception is in their very names. How can you be sure that what they are saying is true?"

"Because I am Prime and he is my Protector and my spark _knows_ it." Optimus replied without hesitation and rearranged himself a little so he was in a battle stance. The Magnus Hammer was a foreign weight in his servos but he had no problem holding the thing. It had always looked so imposing, so untouchable in Ultra Magnus' hands. In Optimus', it purred like an eager servant ready to serve its master. "I _know_ what you did and I can't believe you could do that to a couple of sparklings. The Optimus you knew is long gone, Ultra Magnus. You're facing your _Prime_ now."

Ultra Magnus lunged like a beast, going for the Hammer in Optimus' hands in hopes of taking back his weapon. Optimus didn't even need to think, he just let his body lead him and a torrent of electricity struck Ultra Magnus square in the chest, sending him flying backwards. Now there was gawking all around as two pairs of blue and four pairs of red optics landed on Optimus and the sizzling Hammer in his servos. Optimus himself, surprisingly, _wasn't_ surprised that the weapon had worked in his hands. The Hammer was meant to respond only to the leader of Cybertron. Guess it more than recognized a Prime as the rightful leader of Cybertron.

"Ultra Magnus!" Sentinel called out in panic before turning burning and yet fearful optics on his once friend. Optimus never let up his stance. "Why you little-" He never finished his tirade, though, as Megatron sent him flying with a single shot from his cannon, flooring the big chinned mech.

"I guess I'll be seeing you, Sentinel, old pal." Optimus said with an arched optic ridge before transforming and driving away, Hammer in tow. The Decepticons would have stayed to finish them off but Starscream was in need of medical attention and Megatron was far more interested in the weapon his Prime now possessed than the Magnus. Optimus continued to ignore the inquiring pings from his Lord Protector and instead hailed his team. He nearly sagged in relief when they answered immediately, Bumblebee bombarding him with millions of questions, most of them surrounding Blackarachnia, the Elite Guard and Jazz, whom apparently they had taken for the ride.

_::If you would all settle down, ask your questions one at a time and let me _talk_, then maybe we'd all get some answers, right?::_ That, at least, made them shut up, at least for a little while. It allowed Optimus to ask the really important questions. _::Now, first of all, is everyone alright? You didn't have any difficulties with escaping the ship? Did Blackarachnia use her poison on anyone?::_

_::We're all fine, although we had to use stasis cuffs on Jazz, since he tried to contact Ultra Magnus. Blackarachnia insisted that we take him along.::_ Although Prowl didn't exactly sound all that much against the idea. It was probably nice to have another cyberninja around. _::What about you? Did the ambush work as you planned?::_

_::Well, the Cons definitely got the drop on them and both Magnus and Sentinel received some damage. The Magnus Hammer caused quite a few injuries to them before I took it, though, so we'll need Sari's Key to repair some fried circuitry, especially for Starscream since he-::_

_::Wow, wow, wow, back it up, Bossbot.::_ Bumblebee interrupted out of nowhere and, had he been in root mode, Optimus would have frowned. _::Can you repeat that for me again? Because I _must_ be glitching.::_

_::We need Sari's Key to fix up Starscream's fried circuitry?::_

_::No! The thing you said _before_ that!::_ At the continued, confused silence from Prime, the yellow bot huffed. _::About the Magnus Hammer?::_

_::What _about_ the Magnus Hammer?::_ Ratchet snorted, not really interested. He had his processor on other things. _::What was it you were saying about fried circuitry? I might be of assistance for a field patch before Sari can get to 'em.::_

_::No! We are _not_ ignoring the fact that Bossbot just said he took that big Hammer from Ultra Magnus!::_ Stunned silence followed Bee's exclamation, the others apparently just catching on to what Optimus had revealed so casually moments ago. _::I mean, how cool is that!? What did you do? Use some special Prime powers to rip it out of his hands or something? Can you fly now, Bossbot? Please tell me you can at least shoot laser beams from your optics!::_

_::You took the Magnus Hammer!?::_ Came Jazz's voice suddenly, but Optimus figured someone had to have shared their frequency with him. Hey, if he was being taken for the ride, he might as well become a part of the team. Well, that or they gagged him so he wouldn't shout for help. Which brought into question how his comms were working, if Blackarachnia didn't want to get tracked. Maybe the Decepticons had some sort of device that could isolate the comm units for a single frequency? Who knows. _::How?::_

_::Are you actually able to use that thing, kid, or is it going to be a decoration on the Cons' wall?::_

_::Well, I ... kind of already blasted Ultra Magnus with it, so unless it was a one time thing, yes, I can use it.::_

_::Holy slag, that's _awesome_, Bossbot! Can you teach me to do that?::_

_::That Hammer is meant for the rightful supreme leader of Cybertron.::_ Jazz protested and Optimus sent the impression of shrugging. Ratchet spared him from having to reply.

_::Then I guess it makes perfect sense that a Prime can use it if the Magnus can.::_

_::Do you think Megatron can use it?::_ Bulkhead asked, but before Optimus or anyone else could give their opinion on the matter, the white Cyberninja cut in again.

_::Why would the leader of the _Decepticons_ be able to use the _Magnus_ Hammer? And why is OP able to do it, either?::_

_::The Lord High Protector and Prime have way more legal, religious and social right to Cybertron than a Magnus _ever_ will. Although I don't know if Megatron will be able to use it.::_

_::Maybe?::_ Optimus and Ratchet both sent shrugging impressions down the comms, letting Jazz splutter with the heavy hint they dropped. _::Where are you guys, even?::_

_::Just nearing the new base.::_ Prowl answered shortly and Optimus sighed in relief.

_::When are you getting back, Bossbot?::_

_::In two breems, Bumblebee. We're going a bit slower since they have to carry Starscream.::_

_::How bad is it?::_

_::He'll live, Bulkhead. He just needs a medic, some rest and some Energon. All of which he will get soon enough. Or the AllSpark Key. Ratchet would be of better use with Megatron, Blitzwing and Lugnut. This thing is dangerous.::_

_::It can fry us alive until we're not, Prime. It's not a toy.::_ Ratchet grumbled just as Optimus saw the entrance to the mines not that far away. He transformed back into root mode, since driving on the forest floor wasn't really good for his tires. He heard a few more transformation sequences occurring a bit behind and above him and the ground shook as the four Decepticons landed. When he looked at them, Optimus saw that they were eying the Hammer in his hand warily but decided not to feel offended by it. It was only reasonable that they would show unease towards the weapon that had injured them so.

_::We're here, Ratchet. I hope you're prepared.::_

_::Bring 'em in, Prime. I'm as ready as I'll ever be.::_ With that, Optimus nodded towards the Decepticons and Megatron took point, leading them all in. He and Optimus stood to the side once they reached the impromptu medbay Ratchet had set up, the scowling medic grumbling upon seeing the injuries he would be treating. Sari just went over to the berth Blitzwing put Starscream on and started using her Key to fix the damage. The other ... former Autobots watched from afar as the Key glowed and Starscream started looking better by the second.

"Crazy," Jazz commented to no one in particular, not really believing his optics. Whether it was because of what Sari was doing or because the colorful Autobots and the limbering Decepticons were working together, Optimus didn't know nor did he get a chance to contemplate it, as Bumblebee broke the relative silence other than the sounds of Ratchet and Sari at work.

"Is _nobot_ seriously going to bring up the Magnus Hammer? I mean, Bossbot has the _Magnus Hammer_ and no one is saying anything!? I've never even _seen_ the Magnus Hammer in person, let alone from this close up!"

"I have." Jazz retorted a bit bitterly. Blackarachnia snorted.

"So did I. Comes with the turf of being in a unit with the best cadet, back in the day."

Optimus ignored her pointed look and the strange glances everyone else was throwing their way, deciding to put in his own two credits. "So have I. Quite a few times, too." He should have expected the growl that caused with the Decepticons, but thankfully, Ratchet had it under control as he banged Blitzwing over the head with a wrench. Thankfully, the Decepticons shut up, apparently having much more respect towards a medic than Autobots usually did. Then again, Decepticon medics were probably the vindictive sort. You wouldn't want to get on their bad side.

"Yes, well, I saw the damned thing up close, too. It ain't anything special. Just dangerous as pit when used and it only leaves a medic with full servos for the rest of the orbital cycle."

"But it's the _Magnus Hammer_! The legendary Autobot weapon that helped Ultra Magnus win us the war! It forged the container for the AllSpark!" Bumblebee insisted and Megatron snorted.

"And this is a Prime," he drawled, gesturing towards Optimus. "The even more legendary leader, chosen by Primus himself, to rule all of Cybertron with his Lord High Protector, the conduit of our Creator's will, the bearer of the Matrix of Leadership, the protector of the AllSpark. And it was most certainly _not_ used to forge the AllSpark's container. That's the damned Autobot propaganda they're trying to sell as history or mythology to make their Magnuses, as wielders of such a weapon, religiously rightful rulers of Cybertron. The AllSpark container was created using the Forge of Solus Prime, wielded by Solus Prime, before our civilization began."

"Who's Solus Prime? A mech like Bossbot?" Bulkhead asked and the Decepticons suddenly turned to stare at the green bot incredulously. "Um, was it something I said?"

"_Solus Prime_ is the first Cybertronian femme, the forth created Prime, sparked from Primus' own Spark and forged from his own plating, you uneducated _glitch_." Starscream seemed to be fine, or at least well enough to start screeching again. "She was a creator, the first craftsman, making all of the other Primes weapons with her mighty Forge, _including_ the casing for the AllSpark. Don't they teach you Autobots _anything_ anymore?!"

"But I thought Optimus was a Prime," Sari half asked, half stated uncertainly, brows furrowed in confusion. "And he doesn't have any special weapons. I mean, yeah, sure, he has his ax but it's nothing like the weapons you're alluding to."

"That's because Starscream failed to mention that there are several types of Primes throughout Cybertron's history." Megatron explained, cutting in before his SIC could start another confusing tirade. "Before the First Generation was sparked, there were thirteen Primes, Solus being only one of them. They shaped Cybertron's surface to how we know it, setting the groundwork for future generations. They raised and taught the First Generation before simply disappearing one day, off the face of Cybertron and the universe at large, leaving only the AllSpark to allow reproduction and the continuation of our species. They are usually referred to as the Thirteen Primes. The second type of Primes are the type that followed shortly after. Regular bots with some above average skills that managed to inspire loyalty and helped expand Cybertronian influences throughout the galaxy. They were, quite frankly, tyrants, which is why Primus decided to gift his children with the Matrix of Leadership, carrying a small portion of Primus' own spark in it, meant only for the purest and kindest to bear near their spark. So began the dynasty of _real_ Primes, starting with Rodimus Prime. But these Primes weren't meant to rule alone, so they had Lord High Protectors. Several generations of Primes and Protectors ruled until Sentinel Prime's senate had his Lord High Protector, Galvatron, murdered, hoping to achieve more power. Sentinel went mad and killed his successor's, Zeta Prime's, Lord High Protector, too. Zeta followed in his footsteps, going mad and killing Nominus Prime's Protector. All not that long into their rule. So Primus decided to protect the next generation of Primes before they completely ruined the Matrix with their atrocious deeds, sparking the Prime and Protector far away from civilization. It took Nominus _stellar cycles_ to find them, by which point Nova Prime and Megazarak had grown enough to understand the world and Megazarak had gotten strong enough to fight for his spark as much as Nova's. As a mature warframe, Nominus had little hope of eliminating Megazarak, a shrewed, suspicious-bordering-on-paranoid, experienced warrior and survivor, and so, for the first time in vorns, Prime and Lord High Protector ruled Cybertron again."

"But it couldn't last," Ratchet mumbled forlornly.

"Nominus died but his council remained." Starscream grunted, glaring up at the ceiling from the medical berth. "They were far too used to the power they had without a Protector ruling beside a Prime."

"Nominus Prime was unstable at best. He had very rare moments of clarity to make his own rare few good decisions, the rest was the Council's work." Megatron continued, looking at his Prime in the optics as soon as Optimus had looked back up to him, listening carefully. "Now there was a pair, Nova and Megazarak. But Megazarak was well loved by the warframes, because he afforded them some of their first rights in millions of stellar cycles. He treated them right. And he was a strong warrior, much larger and more powerful than any mech or assassin that the Council had loyal to them. He was too big of a bite for them. So they did what they had never done before."

"Never even considered it." Blitzwing said.

"The consequences were too unpredictable. Megazarak was a volatile warframe." Starscream pipped in again, sounding anguished. "He hated the Council since the beginning, since he could see through their vile tricks from the start."

"They wanted him cowed, loyal to them. They wanted a second Age of Expension." Ratchet mumbled, sounding ashamed, as though he himself was somehow involved.

"So they killed Nova Prime. They extinguished his spark right in front of Megazarak's optics and watched as madness set in."


	7. Chapter 7

**The Lost Prime**

**Summary: Primes and their Lord High Protectors are made as twins, their sparks coming online together far from other Cybertronian life, protecting one another until the Herald of Primus comes for them. However, the Council can't allow that and the newest Prime goes missing, his Lord Protector tearing Cybertron apart to find him. Every war has its reason. This one is just coming to light. TFA AU**

The way Megatron finished the tale had more than one plating rattling against a protoform in the face of such icy rage that was expressed by nothing but the tone of voice used. The Decepticons were all quiet, frighteningly so. Ratchet couldn't meet anyone's gaze. Sari and her father exchanged uncertain glances, a bit horrified by the violent turn the story had taken from its matter of fact explanatory tone. Bulkhead and Bumblebee just shifted uneasily. Prowl's visor dimmed and he bowed his head, servos clenched in tight fists. Jazz cringed.

The Prime and Protector never broke their optic contact, gazing into each other's optics, reading all the emotions shown there. Optimus felt a strange coldness set in his spark. He had never felt this frigid, freezing cold before and it made his plating rattle. Megatron, on the other hand, felt the burning fires of rage and protectiveness. Megazarak had had to watch Nova offline before his very optics, unable to put a stop to it, but _he_ won't! He had thought he had lost Optimus forever once already, before they even had names. He refused to have the Prime taken from him ever again.

"What happened after?" The red and blue mech asked the dreaded question, even though he had read about it. But he wanted to hear it from Megatron's vocalizer. They had been skirting around this topic for two weeks now, mentioning it in very poor detail before brushing it off altogether. But since they were already talking about this, he wanted to know. He _deserved_ to know. It was as much his ancestry as it was Megatron's, if not more so, seeing as there had been Primes long before there had been Protectors, even if those weren't moments in their history to be proud of.

"Megazarak refused to bow to them, so they accused him of illicit business and made him a fugitive. Him and his army, nearly driving him even more insane. The sparking of a new pair had him clinging to what remained of his sanity and he set out to search for you and me, deep into the Sea of Rust. The Council and their newly appointed Magnus had much the same idea and, unfortunately, much more luck. To be expected, as they were hunting the warframes down to drag into the mines, smelting pits or gladiatorial arenas all over Cybertron and on the colonies. Megazarak wasn't that far behind. They managed to steal the Prime but the former Lord High Protector managed to save his successor. Still, the loss of the new Prime was almost as devastating as the loss of Nova. There went the new hope he had been harboring. Then came the news that the Council had managed to lose the Prime and the Prime was presumed dead. Megazarak searched and searched while he fought a war he had no hope of winning - not with his Protector coding demanding he _protect_ his enemies, not kill them - driving him further into madness until he almost offlined his successor, had the rumors of the little Prime being hidden away somewhere not reached them. Eventually, he had to send the new Lord High Protector away, away from the war that would tear him apart if he saw it, and I became a miner, then a gladiator and then the new Lord of Decepticons. I've been trying to end the war and find you, Optimus, ever since."

"How can we know that you're telling the truth?" Jazz challenged after Megatron finished his brief life story redention and the warlord rolled his optics, but Ratchet answered the question.

"Because _I_ was there to see a good part of it." The grumpy medic snapped. "The Decepticon movement, in its earlier years, was a righteous cause trying to provide warframes with equality and protesting the Decepticon Registration Act that Ultra Magnus sanctioned not long after coming to power. Then Megazarak went mad and started talking about using the AllSpark to turn Cybertron itself into a _weapon_. Megatron soon came into power, disposing of Megazarak, but it was already too late. We were already at war, propaganda already ran too deep and wild and the Decepticons were declared monsters and warmongers. Never mind that the soon to be named _Autobots_ were the ones who had wanted to send them to those wars in the first place. They just didn't like the idea of one of the universe's greatest armies turning on _them_."

"We are not _one_ of the universe's greatest armies. We are the _greatest_ army." Blitzwing corrected and Ratchet rolled his eyes.

"Then how did we beat you in the Great War?" Surprisingly enough, it was Prowl who asked, arching an optic ridge at the triplechanger and his declaration.

"The use of Space Bridges and the AllSpark." Jazz replied, giving his fellow cyberninja a strange look. After all, every Autobot knew that.

"No, it was a fleet of Omega Sentinels that won the Autobots the Great War." Ratchet corrected with a indignant huff. "The Ministary of Science created a fleet of giant mechs, machines of war and destruction to combat the superior military forces that were the Decepticons. We're not made for war, unlike _them_." He tilted his helm towards the warframes silently watching the debate, who just shrugged when the other civilians shot glances at them. "Even our Space Bridge Nexus wasn't enough of an advantage. What good are Space Bridges when in immediate battle, our weapons ran out of amo while they could go on, business like usual with nary a cube of battle grade Energon or jet fuel? We needed more effective ways to fight them, so we created weapons of mass destruction-"

"And made them your _slaves_!" Optimus nearly jumped out of his plating at the half roar, half hiss Megatron released beside him, taking a threatening step towards Ratchet. He acted without much thought and stepped in front of the larger mech, a firm glare on his face.

"Stand down, Megatron. Ratchet had nothing to do with it."

Megatron huffed and was about to do so when Ratchet spoke up. "No, kid. I did." Optimus whirled around, optics hurt, gazing at his friend with a hint of betrayal that had Ratchet flinching. "I was one of the ... mentors to the Omega Sentinels. Omega Supreme, to be precise. I was tasked with finding his original intended mentor and bringing her back safely behind the Autobot line as a field medic, but Lockdown captured us and I had to use my EMP generator to erase her memory core to protect the activation codes."

"Lockdown?" Ratchet nodded at Optimus' question, continuing his story before the Prime - or anyone else - could ask any more questions. This was not like when he first opened up to his young leader about the Great War, after their encounter with the above mentioned bounty hunter.

"She implanted a safety measure around my energy field and the codes were transfered to me when I was called to try and repair her processor, making me the new mentor to Omega Supreme. I was ordered to take the position, whether I liked it or not, and I took Omega into many battles against the Decepticons until, one day, I finally had to put him into a modified stasis to save his spark. He's been offline ever since."

"As the Orion."

"As the Orion." The red and white ambulance confirmed, not meeting the kid's optics. Optimus sighed and rubbed his nasal bridge in exasperation.

"Okay, so you're telling me that we have _three_ elements of the Decepticon's defeat ... All under _my_ command?" The entire room blinked at the Prime, dumbfounded by the question before they realized what he was talking about and Megatron smirked. "Un_believable_. How is this my life? All we are missing are the Space Bridges and the nearest one is at least several solar systems away. Not that we could use it, anyway. We'd need the Nexus access codes for that."

"And for those codes, you'd need someone high enough in the Elite Guard to give them to you." Jazz shrugged when everyone turned to look at him. "What? After what I've just heard, I'm not so sure I like the Elite Guard, the Council or Ultra Magnus all that much anymore. I'm not a sparkless mech. Although I don't support the idea of eradicating every Autobot off of the place of Cybertron, either."

"That plan's been scrapped as soon as I found my Prime." Megatron waved him off and that was when Blackarachnia finally spoke up for the second time since this conversation had started.

"So you're some legendary leader of all of Cybertron and you let me and Sentinel push you around? What is _wrong_ with you, Optimus?!"

The red and blue mech scowled at the spiderformer, the first show of defiance he showed her when his friends were not in danger, pushing away his guilt at what had happened to her because he couldn't save her. "One, I didn't always _know_ I am a Prime. Two, you and Sentinel _never_ listened. I could talk until I am even bluer in the face and you'd just march on and do whatever you two wanted, making me come along to make sure you two glitches don't get in too much trouble. And _three_," he actually brought his free hand up to show off three digits. "I'm a nice bot. You and Sentinel often took advantage of that. I was young and naive and easily guilt-tripped. Not so, anymore. I've had some experience since then and I've been forced to face some facts, see the world from a vastly different point of view. I now have too many people depending on me to be that same bot you once knew, so if you're going to bitch about Archa Seven anymore, you can go and do it to Sentinel. I'm done dealing in guilt anymore. In not so friendly terms, I almost cost you your life and then I saved it. We're _even_."

And with that, he whirled around on his pedes and marched off to find the quarters that should have been provided for him and his team without a backward glance at the stupefied bots he was leaving behind. Megatron just watched him go with an interested grin before nodding to their mechs and following after his Prime. "Excuse me, but I have some Space Bridge matters to discuss with my Prime." And with that, he was off, too. He soon enough caught up to the younger mech and fell in step with the still angry should-be-and-soon-will-be co-ruler of Cybertron.

("_Seriously_, guys! The _Magnus Hammer_!"

"We get it, Bumblebee, now shut up.")

"That was rather ... explosive of you, Optimus," the gray mech commented with a hum as they traveled through the mines tunnels. "The most fierce I've seen you out of battle as of yet."

"Yeah, well, I got sick of everyone having an opinion but not letting me have my own." The Prime grumbled, resisting the urge to hide behind his battle mask. He had never talked to anyone like that before, not even an opponent, an enemy. Yet he had so casually attacked Elita- no. She was Blackarachnia now. She wanted to deny ever being Elita. What did he owe her now if she refused to acknowledge who she had been. Yes, what happened to her was horrible and partially Optimus' fault, but if she was going to blame him for it, she should at least see the part which was her own fault. She had agreed with Sentinel to go exploring. They could have _all_ died that day. And then what? What would have died for? Glory and Energon? Greed always got to you, sooner or later. Optimus had managed to save Sentinel that day, but maybe he should have just escaped on his own with how Sentinel had become. It was a terrible thing to think, and Optimus would never act on such thoughts, but he was allowed to be selfish within his own mind as long as it didn't affect anyone in the outside world!

Megatron just hummed, watching the defensive body language his little Prime sported. "You should keep that attitude. We will not be able to free ourselves of the Council and their ilk so easily even when we take Cybertron."

"You speak as if that will be easy." Blue optics darted up to meet red, curious, thoughtful and suspicious. "As if we can just walk into Fortress Maximus and they will break out the red carpet and high grade to celebrate our homecoming."

The Lord Protector snorted, opening the door for his Prime when they arrived at the younger mech's temporary room. "If only. No, it will not be easy to get into Fortress Maximus and we will not be welcomed there. The Primal Basilica, though," he chuckled, stepping in after the smaller mech. "That is our domain. That is where Alpha Trion will be waiting for us with the Matrix of Leadership. That is where our right to Cybertron will be announced before all of our people and that is where we will end the rule of the Magnus and the Council. Prime and Protector, when ruling together, rarely had anything to do with the Council, if it even existed."

"You know quite a bit about this dynamic we're supposed to share," Optimus commented, taking in the room. It was rather spartan and utilitarian, but it was supposed to be temporary and he can always take his personal effects from the Plant and bring them here. It was best that it was this bare. At least it had some real security at the doors and an actual berth. "And as wonderful as that sounds, we still need to get to Cybertron and Iacon first. I don't see that happening anytime soon ... Unless Lugnut has a Space Bridge hidden in his subspace somewhere."

Megatron laughed at that, entertained by the mere thought. "No, but I _can_ promise you a Space Bridge. I ... downloaded the schematics when I was in your ship." He admitted when he got an accusing look from Optimus. "We should be able to procure the needed materials, though the schematics are ... Well, they are incomplete."

Optimus arched an optic ridge at him. "We are a team of Space Bridge repair bots. I'm sure we can help complete your plans. That doesn't change the fact that, whether we get a functioning Space Bridge or not, we don't have the access codes for the Nexus. Without them, we'll never get to Cybertron. It will just transport us to some random place in the universe. And the only way to get those codes is if you have someone high up in the Autobot Intelligence. Jazz is only a Minor. You need a P-"

"Please don't say that mockery of a title. I thought we talked about this." Optimus chuckled at the disgusted grimace Megatron made at the mere thought, it being his turn to be entertain.

"Mockery of a title or not, you still need someone with it in the Intelligence department."

"And what if I told you I _did_ have somebot _very_ high in Autobot Intelligence ranks?"

Optimus eyes him with suspicion again, not sure whether the strange mix of pride, excitement and smugness that was present in his larger companion's field was endearing or annoying but not trusting it one bit. "_How_ high in ranks are we talking about?"

Megatron pretended to think, crossing his large servos and leaning against the wall, optics going skyward before returning to the former Autobot. "Oh, just the Head of Intelligence. Nothing big."

Optimus' jaw actually _dropped_. He couldn't help but gap at his ... very resourceful Lord High Protector. It was as impressive as it was scary. He had been a faithful, loyal little Autobot just less than two decacycles ago. He couldn't _believe_ their enemy was _this_ dangerous even when there were no weapons or fighting involved. "How did the Autobots win the war again?"

"In truth, they just tried to use our coding against us. But the more they claimed to be _Autobots_ and not Cybertronian civilianframes ... "

"The easier it got." The smaller of the two finished, looking down at his pedes in thought. "But you say that as though civilianframes never entered the military at all. Surely that can't be true?" Optimus knew quite a few who joined the army just so they can go and fight. He doubted his generation was the first.

"It was more an exception, than a rule. The civilianframes of my time were more than happy to let us bleed and die for them and then to discard us in gladiatorial arenas to bleed and die some more for _their entertainment_."

Optimus shuddered at the rage that he felt over their link and drew in on himself. "I can't believe I've ever been an Autobot before."

"You haven't. You've always been a _Prime_." The Protector insisted, disgusted by the mere idea. "You were just kept unaware of what the Council and the Elite Guard were willing to resort to to meet their goals. We now have the chance to right that. We just need to get back home and fix things."

"But will I really be that great a help?" The red and blue bot asked, his insecurities playing up. "I screwed up as a cadet quite badly. Blackarachnia can tell you all about it, as it is how she ended up as she is now. And even my team won't respect me half of the time, ignoring my commands, even if they are for their own good. How am i supposed to help you in rebuilding our world when no on is willing to listen to me? I don't even know what I'm supposed to do! Unlike you, I don't really know anything about who I am and what I'm supposed to be!"

He was surprised when two hands fell on his shoulderstruts and the Decepticon leader knelt before him on one knee, serious optics gazing into his own. "You will learn, as I have, as your coding comes online. We were made for Cybertron, yes, but Optimus, we still need to learn how to lead if we want to do it _right_. I had over five million stellar cycles more then you to learn and that might not be fair, but think of it like this: I had to learn alone while you will have me there to help you. We can do this Optimus, but only if we do it together. That is why we are a pair."

"Still," blue optics flitted away, uncertain. "Wouldn't you want to have some other mech in my place? Someone more experienced, perhaps? Or a better warrior?"

"I will have no bot else." The determination with which Megatron said it had Optimus looking back at him with wide optics. His spark skipped a few harmonics at the sincerity with which he was met when their gazes connected. "Experience is gained with time and age, as for the warrior part," the larger mech hummed, looking him over before giving a firm nod. "From our encounters so far, you have shown me you have talent and great potential that just needs to be tapped into. Practice is all you need, which is why we will start training you first thing in the morning. For now, we should probably discuss the Space Bridge."

Optimus wanted to protest some more, but the flow of emotions over their link kind of made it a mute point, as it was clear Megatron will only keep disagreeing with him that there might be someone better for the job. Optimus just hoped he really will learn.

He didn't want to let anyone down, least of all Megatron.


	8. Chapter 8

**The Lost Prime**

**Summary: Primes and their Lord High Protectors are made as twins, their sparks coming online together far from other Cybertronian life, protecting one another until the Herald of Primus comes for them. However, the Council can't allow that and the newest Prime goes missing, his Lord Protector tearing Cybertron apart to find him. Every war has its reason. This one is just coming to light. TFA AU**

Optimus grunted as he fell to the ground for the third time in just the past joor. This was getting ridiculous. The chances of him winning in a grappling or wrestling hand-to-hand combat match with Megatron, who was taller than him by half of his size. He only barely made it up to Megatron's chestplates. How the Decepticon warlord was expecting him to topple him is beyond Optimus, especially when weapons and mods were forbidden.

"Get up, Optimus Prime. This training session is far from over." Said warlord called, not even revved up after all this time, much to the Prime's chagrin.

_'Training session, yeah right. As if.'_ It was more like a 'throw Optimus around for three joors straight and expect him to continue fighting back' session. He was tired and dented and Ratchet was bound to have his aft later for having to fix him up, but he still did as his Protector demanded, getting back to his pedes with a ground of protest from his pistons and transformations seams. He wasn't used to this kind of punishment and the larger mech was only playing with him. It left him disgruntled and feeling rather inadequate in comparison to his perfectly fine partner.

It also served to annoy him and make him try harder despite the need for fuel that had started popping up in his processor a few breems ago. He was still not in the red zone, so they could continue for a while longer.

Megatron watched with pride as his younger counterpart rose to his pedes and continued their sparring match despite showing obvious signs of tiredness. Any other civilainframe would have given up before the first joor was up, but Optimus still kept fighting, his pistons straining and systems no doubt overheating a bit from the excretion. It was to be expected. For all that the other was a Prime, his frame was still closer to a civilianfrmae than it ever will be to a warframe and civilainframes were not meant to endure the type of training they were currently going through. Even if durability was not in questions, the sheer amount of energy Optimus had to use and the strain his body had to go through just so he can grapple with Megatron would have left a lesser civilian in emergency stasis some time ago.

They met again, Megatron trying to catch his smaller opponent into a secure hold and Optimus doing his best to evade him, thoughts leaving his processor as his battle programs primed themselves, making the world sharper, his movements faster, smoother, his processor focusing only on the next blow, the next move and they fell into a rhythm. To any spectators, they even started resembling dancers in a deadly tango rather than a sparring pair, expertly evading each attack while calculating their counterattack. The world narrowed down on each other and Optimus forgot about Starscream, Prowl and Bumblebee watching from the sidelines until he heard a gasp when he managed to deliver a kick with his pede to the side of Megatron's helm, nearly toppling him over. He blinked his optics, snapping back into the real world, only to grunt again when Megatron caught him, only this time he didn't throw his Prime to the floor.

Optimus yelped as he was hoisted up onto a large shoulder pauldron, instinctively latching onto the spikes of Megatron's help and shoulder to keep himself upright and steady, earning himself a laugh from the larger mech. "I think that is enough for today. While you certainly need training, we don't need you collapsing as though your legs were made of Energon jelly. And speaking of Energon, you should refuel. Don't think I haven't noticed the state of your tanks."

"I was hoping you'd ignore it for a little while longer," the civilianframe muttered but didn't protest as he was carried back towards the base, passing his friends and the Decepticon Second in Command. "You're just making a fuss about it now because I was beginning to win."

"Perhaps, little Prime, but you lost focus." A meaningful look was sent Bumblebee's way and the yellow racer smiled sheepishly at his leader and the bigger mech. "That is also something we will have to work on."

"Aren't you taking this a little too far? I thought warframes are on our side and I'm one of the best fighters the Autobots had." Optimus asked, trying to squirm off of Megatron's shoulder the closer to the entrance of the mine they got. There was no way he can sit on Megatron's shoulder when they enter it. "I don't mean to be arrogant, but I rather doubt anyone with enough skill will get to me between my own skill level and you by my side."

"And while that may be true, not all warframes are Decepticons. You've met Lockdown," Megatron reminded, still not letting go of the smaller one even if they were now practically mechanometers from the cave. "There are many other bounty hunters out there, not to mention that there are other species with great fighting skills to watch out for. The better you know to fight, the less you need me and the bigger chances of survival you will have if something were to separate us. No amount of bodyguards in the world will help you if you can't at least hold your own to still function by the time they can come to your aid against an assassin."

"I guess you'd have more experience with assassins than me, so you're the authority here." The former Autobot grumbled as he was at least finally put down so they can walk into the tunnels together. He was vaguely aware of Prowl and Bumblebee following, Starscream having flown off somewhere, probably to do a quick patrol around Detroit. And to think that just a few days ago, it would have been unnecessary, but that was before the Elite Guard had come and Optimus had all but stolen one of their greatest weapons right from under the Magnus' nasal ridge. Ultra Magnus and Sentinel had left Earth as soon as Sentinel had managed to help Magnus back to their ship but no one doubted that they'd be back. They'll probably try to warn Cybertron about this turn of the events, mainly the reemergence of the lost Prime, but too bad for them that it won't work. Blackarachnia had stolen their ion transmitter, after all, which Megatron had used to broadcast a message to all of his forces and to Cybertron.

Suddenly, the Decepticons were fighting with much more vigor than the Autobots were expecting and they were losing control of their borders, blowing up Space Bridges if they can't hold them. That is, if the Decepticons don't deal with them before they can do that, too. Then again, they now knew that their Lord was returning with the Prime they had been searching for and the AllSpark, to boot. They had cause to be so enthusiastic in their battles. The Autobots were struggling to keep up with the Decepticon might and it was even beginning to show, as more and more Space Bridge posts fell under the Decepticons' servos.

And Megatron didn't even need a Space Bridge to be constructed once Ratchet told him the Orion had a transwarp generator, so they all just needed a little more patience and for Megatron's spy to give them the Nexus access codes. Though he was tempted to build it anyway, but could be reasoned with that it was a waste of precious time. Optimus sometimes wondered how the Decepticons had won the war at all, seeing how prone to dramatics and grand gestures they were.

At least Megatron decided that one such grand gesture would be Earth as a courting gift for the Prime. Needless to say, the humans were not amused but figured it was better like that than if they had no Cybertronian protection whatsoever.

"I, unfortunately, do, though luckily enough, they were all failed attempts or we wouldn't be having this conversation." Optimus just shook his head at that, wondering how this had become his life. From washout with a group of other washouts in a Space Bridge repair crew to a Prime with a waiting army to serve at his beck and call and a political function to fulfill on their home planet. And that was not even _mentioning_ the fact that he was to be courted and bonded to his spark-twin whom he had not even known existed until an earth month ago. "So take advice from someone more expirienced and train a little harder. We can't have you offlining before we retake Cybertron and fix the mess made in our absence."

"So, what? I can offline after?" Optimus teased and yelped when he was whirled around, once again greeted by the sight of a kneeling warlord looking at him with determined optics.

"No," the word came out like something between a growl, a plead and an order. "You can most assuredly _not_ offline after. You cannot offline at _all_ as long as there is spark left in my frame. I will rather offline myself than let that happen. You are my Prime, you are my partner, you are my twin, you are my little spark. A world without you will _burn_ if I stay online and you do not. So all those who'd like to try should take heed. You are my mercy, Optimus. Without you, I will have none."

Prime was barely aware of Bumblebee and Prowl fairly _gawking_ at them, too busy gawking himself. It was times like this that he wondered if he really was just dreaming, but then he'd remember that Megatron had won over the Decepticons with orations alone before he overthrew Megazarak. Maybe he should have expected this. After all, Megatron was quite famous for his speeches.

"I don't want you to offline, either," was all he could say in response, very acutely aware of just how much bigger Megatron's hand was in comparison to his own and just how warm the metal under his palm was. "I don't think I can do this alone."

"And you won't have to. You have all your little friends here, don't you?" He threw a glance over his shoulder at the two former Autobots, who still at times tensed when they became the focus of that red gaze. "Besides," he continued with a roguish grin, looking back at the Academy washout. "You'll have the Decepticons as a whole as well, even if I offline. You'll be far from alone, Optimus."

"I haven't been _alone_ before, either, and yet I still was," Optimus countered with a scowl, stepping closer to his co-ruler-to-be. "I have friends, and I may have an army now, but that's not going to replace _you_, so don't be a slaghead and go get yourself offlined. If Starscream, a bomb, a planet's atmosphere and decapitation didn't offline you, you can't go get scrapped by some would-be-assassin."

Prowl and Bumblebee only furthered their gawking while Megatron just arched an eyebrow in humor, smile still very much in place. "You really need to keep that attitude. It will infuriate the Council even more when we throw them out of Fortress Maximus."

"And _you_ really need to stop encouraging him to be so disrespectful," Ratchet grumbled as he walked over to the Prime and kneeling Protector, taking the blue servo out of the black one and ignoring Megatron's growl as he led the younger mech away. "It's going to stick and that ain't good. The Autobots will be intimidated by both Prime ans Lord High Protector showing such an attitude and won't accept him. And while I'd gladly say 'go for it' where the Council is concerned, you really _will_ need all the support from the people that you can get."

"We'll have Caminus' support and the support of several of the colonies under my protection already."

"But the main political and social body of our People make up Cybertron and its two moons." Optimus countered even as he let himself be led away.

"Neither of which are very happy with you, especially not after the Battle of Luna 2." Ratchet snapped before closing the door to the medbay and obscuring Optimus from Megatron's sight. The Prime just sighed and looked to his friend, wondering what the medic wanted to talk about that had to be done so in the privacy of Ratchet's domain. The medibot gestured for him to sit on the berth and Optimus did, now watching Ratchet warily. This wasn't going to be a pleasant conversation. "I wanted to discuss a few things with you, as you may have guessed." Optimus nodded and Ratchet sighed, leaning back against the table holding all of his tools from the Plant. "I'll to the spark of the matter, actually _starting_ with your spark. How's it feeling? Your incomplete bond to Megatron? How much can get over it? How private are your thoughts? Is there any discomfort? What is the range and strength of the bond? Did it immediately snap into place? Is there any static over it?"

The red and blue mech blinked at his companion, a bit overwhelmed by the amount of questions hurtled at him from the usually not-so-chatty grumpy old bot. "Uh ... I feel fine?" At the glare he got, Optimus hunched in on himself but spoke more confidently. "I mean, my spark is fine. No stress or strain or any warnings from my systems. We at times share thoughts, sometimes unintentionally, and we can vagualy sense each other's feelings. There's no discomfort. If anything, after I got used to it, it was actually quite ... comfortable. _Comforting_. I don't know about the range and strength, but we could comfortably talk over the bond while we were on the Steelhaven and Megatron was here. It's all very clear. Or at least it has been so far."

"Did it immediately snap into place or did it linger?" Ratchet repeated the question, gaze distant, as though he were noting it all down or comparing the data.

"It immediately connected, as though it's always been there." And maybe it had been, too. It would make sense. Megatron had been rather clear that they were created as twins and had probably spent quite a bit of time with their fields intertwined. It's probably how a half-bond was even made. Well, that and no doubt their nature as Prime and Lord High Protector. "It felt natural."

Ratchet grunted, crossing his servos. "Can you keep him out or is he constantly aware of you and vice versa?"

"I don't think either one of us wants to actually test it out." At least he was sure _he_ didn't. He rather liked feeling Megatron at the back of his processor and spark. He had been honest when he said not feeling the Decepticon warlord in his spark left him feeling kind of alone. Or maybe _lonely_ was the more accurate description. He hadn't felt it since he had accepted the AllSpark Key from Megatron and he wasn't eager to return to that state, either.

"This is important, Prime!" The ambulance snapped, glaring at the younger bot. "I'm trying to see if your sparks are ready for the bonding, if you're compatible and whether you can actually afford to wait. Megatron may be ready to wait until you're comfortable with the idea and is content to just be close enough for your fields to interact, but if it's as you think and this is _reestablishing_ of an already existent but incomplete bond, then you won't be able to wait until you get the Matrix before your sparks start overheating. You could enter spark burnout and not even realize it until you suddenly collapse, gunmetal gray on the ground and very much _dead_. The data on the Prime-Protector bond might be limited and outdated by several vorns, but I highly doubt its inaccurate or obsolete."

If it were possible in a robot, Optimus would have paled at those words. As it was, only his wildly fluttering EM field could express how disturbed and distressed he was at the prospect of something like that happening to him or Megatron. They'd just found each other. To lose each other so soon after would be devastating. "How likely of a scenario is this and does Megatron know?"

"About 60% likely to happen and I don't think our Lord High Protector is aware of this danger. He may have been more educated in these matters than you, given his brief time with the previous Lord High Protector and people who have served right under him so they knew some of this stuff, but I reckon the likeliness of Megatron's Chief Medical Officer being aware of such a possibility to be at about 35%. And that's only _if_ he had been Megazarak's CMO, too, before taking over as Megatron's. And I know for a _fact_ that Hook was _not_ Megazarak's CMO. A little freak called Scalpel was, but I don't know what happened to him."

"What about Nova Prime's personal medic?" Optimus asked, unable to squash the sudden worry that seized his spark. What happened to Nova and Megazarak was rather well known, even if it was information washed through propaganda filters, what with them being as important figures in their society and history as the Prime and Lord High Protector. But what about all the bots that were loyal to them? Their inner circle, their most trusted companions, their _consultants_? What had happened to them? Are any of them even alive? "Or any of his people, for that matter? Did they join Megazarak when he was exiled?"

Ratchet hesitated, unsure as to how to answer that question or just trying to recall anything he might know. "I ... I don't know. Skyfire was Nova's CMO for a while. A mech named Bluestreak was his Intelligence officer. And I don't know what happened to them, although some people insist they've been offlined before the Council got to the Prime. Pax, the Prime's Scribe and Record Keeper, disappeared and his remains were supposedly found by the Decepticons a thousand stellar cycles after Nova's assassination, but the Cons have never went into much detail regarding that, so his fate is still unknown, especially in official reports. I only know what happened to the Prime's personal bodyguard and Head of Security."

"What happened to him? Is he alive? Where is he?" Hope flared in his spark and Optimus waited with bathed breath for the answer. His tanks dropped and his spark sank when Ratchet sent him a sorrowful look.

"Dion swore he will find and serve the new Prime until his spark goes out. When Megazarak contacted him and Alpha Trion, Dion took off after you, Optimus, and was found offlined in the streets of Iacon with no sign of where _you_ have disappeared off to. From what I heard, Megazarak and Alpha Trion have given him a warriors burial somewhere near where you and Megatron must have been sparked and no one knows where, exactly, that is. That's all I know."

"And Megazarak's people?"

Ratchet shook his head. "You'll have to ask Megatron, though I'm pretty sure Cyclonus is still alive. But that's all I know." The older blue-faced bot hesitated before walking over to put a hand on the Prime's shoulderstrut. "Look, kid, none of this is your fault. The Autobots at one point may have stood for a good cause, but the Council never did. Maybe Ultra Magnus never did, either, but I don't know that. You shouldn't blame yourself and feel guilty for something that happened before you were even online."

"But some of them _died_ because of _me_," the Prime insisted, balling his servos into shaking fists in his lap. "What did I do to deserve loyalty from mechs who weren't even sure I'd be a good leader? I was a _sparkling_!"

"They wanted to give you the _chance_ to become a good leader. A chance to make a difference. Don't diminish their sacrifices by blaming yourself when no fault is yours." That had the younger mech looking up at the medic in surprise. "It was their choice. Instead of moping about it, you should work on making sure their sacrifices weren't in wain. And you can start by making sure you don't offline because of a spark burnout due to a stressed incomplete bond."

Optimus felt his cheekplates heat up at that, doing his best to avoid Ratchet's optics. "I'd kind of prefer if we didn't bond just because it's expected or necessary, you know?"

The grumpy one snorted. "So, what? You want to be swept off of your pedes and romanticized into falling in love with a growling warlord?" Ratchet snorted in amusement again, smirking at his flustered leader. "That can be arranged. I'm sure Megatron's been planning how to woo you for the past six million stellar cycles, if not longer. You two will be fragging like petrorabits before the week is up."

"RATCHET!?" The deeply scandalized - and deeply embarrassed - Prime half yelped, half snapped, earning himself a long, drawn out chuckle from the medic, making Optimus repress a pout. It would only make him look even more childish.

"What? Still got your seals, Optimus, or are you just a prude?" Optimus silence was more than answer enough and Ratchet grew serious again. "Primus."

"Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?" Optimus cut off anything else the medic might have had to say, hoping he won't have to run away so as not to face the red and white mech again. Or Megatron, if Ratchet ends up being the one to tell him.

That, at least, distracted Ratchet enough to not continue the topic of his Prime's apparent virginity and instead focus on the other matter he had called in his leader to discuss. It may have been only a few days since he had revealed anything about the Orion, but if they were going back to Cybertron on _his _ship, it was going to be under _his _terms. "Yes, actually. It's about Omega Supreme."

The Academy washout frowned at Ratchet, curious. "What about him?" This was probably a conversation they should be having with the Decepticons present, but whatever Ratchet wanted to say was probably best said with someone not so emotionally connected to the topic before it was presented before the mechs who had lost so many people to the warship transformer.

Ratchet hesitated for only a second before determination filled his optics as he met Optimus' inuring gaze.

"I want to bring him back online."


	9. Chapter 9

**The Lost Prime**

**Summary: Primes and their Lord High Protectors are made as twins, their sparks coming online together far from other Cybertronian life, protecting one another until the Herald of Primus comes for them. However, the Council can't allow that and the newest Prime goes missing, his Lord Protector tearing Cybertron apart to find him. Every war has its reason. This one is just coming to light. TFA AU**

"Jeez, Bossbot, I can't believe you've managed to talk old bucket-head into letting us bring Omega Supreme back online." Bumblebee commented as he watched Ratchet and Optimus, with Sari on his shoulder, flitting around a room that looked suspiciously like a giant, modified spark chamber, Bulkhead, Jazz and Prowl behind him as they watched the two bots work. "I mean, I'm no history buff, but even I know the Supremes caused the Cons quite a bit of trouble."

"You only know that because Jazz told you," replied Prowl, who every now and then, couldn't resist but to get a dig in on the yellow minibot, like that time with Prometheus Black and Cyrus "Colossus Rhodes" and Bumblebee's napoleon complex, much to said yellow minibot's displeasure. "Although I must admit to surprise myself. I honestly thought that the Decepticons would try to keep Omega Supreme offline no matter what."

"That's what I thought, too, which is why I approached Optimus here first before presenting the idea before our Decepticon _friends,_" grumbled the old medic, scowling as he struggled to rearrange some wires. Optimus just shook his head at them as he put down the AllSpark container and regarded his team.

"Megatron was fine with it as long as we promised not to let Omega attack any of his troupes."

In truth, Megatron had been less than fine with it and a lot harder to convince than Optimus had made it out to be. The Decepticon warlord had greatly protested at the idea of the weapon of their ultimate defeat to come back online and in such close proximity to his soldiers. Good thing Optimus had known how to remind him, none too gently, though - they didn't have the _time_ to skirt around the subject, as delicate as it might have been to the Decepticons - about how great of an asset Omega Supreme would be to _their _side, seeing as he was the only remaining intact Omega Sentinel and Ratchet, his mentor bot, was their firm supporter. Megatron had grumbled about it, knowing the giant mech was programmed to protect Autobots and attack Decepticons first and foremost, which was why Optimus had to spend a total of twenty breems convincing him to remain within their mine base while Ratchet explained things to his charge, which only led to Megatron's unwillingness to leave Optimus within range of a weapon of mass destruction while he was away.

In the end, Megatron and he had come to a compromise. Megatron would use the signal dampeners and hide in his alt mode while things were being explained and Optimus was to remain within sight as soon as the shipformer onlined, meaning that only Ratchet was going to remain within Omega's spark chamber, while Optimus and the rest are to come out of the ship. So much debating for such a little thing, but Optimus supposed he understood. It was a part of the Protector coding acting up, demanding from Megatron that he keep Optimus, his Prime, safe. Besides, this way, if Omega somehow had a protocol that allowed him to disregard Ratchet's orders on basis of them being traitors to the Autobot cause, only Ratchet will be taken away and he knew how to take care of himself. He'd be able to make up some story about the Decepticons kidnapping him or something. Maybe make up that Blackarachnia's organic half had some mind controlling abilities if there was footage from the Steelhaven breakout. So Megatron would be keeping a watchful optic, the other Decepticons will be ready to attack if they were needed and Ratchet will try his best to keep Omega on their side.

Optimus was hopeful it will all go well.

"That crankcase is probably just _looking_ for an excuse to blow up the cause of his defeat in the Great War," the mentorbot of said sentient ship snarled to himself and Optimus shook his helm. He wasn't sure if Ratchet was just venting - he was apparently a bit nervous about bringing his old friend back online after so many years, worried what Omega might think of him - or if he was too used to the Autobot propaganda that he automatically fell back to it when needing to curse about something, especially something even remotely connected to the Decepticons.

"Maybe he would have a few weeks back, but Ratchet," he gently reminded. "His Protector coding demands he protect _all_ things Cybertronian. And that _includes_ Omega Supreme. _Especially_ as he is a sentient Cybertronian with a spark."

"Are you _sure_ about that?" Ratchet looked over his shoulderstrut at the young Prime, expression grace. "Even with Omega's purposefully limited processor? Are you sure he recognizes him as a citizen of Cybertron and nod just a _weapon_?"

At that, Optimus only arched an optic ridge and crossed his arms, unamused. "Wouldn't that completely contradict his rhetorics from his times in the Gladiatorial Pits of Kaon and make him a hypocrite not only in front of us and everyone on Cybertron, but also in front of the _Decepticons_? It goes _completely_ against the cause they're fighting for, besides reinstating the rightful Prime and Protector back into their places of power. Somehow I doubt he'd risk victory when it was so close at hand over his ill feelings with a former enemy."

"Optimus _is_ right," Prowl agreed, coming into the room to stand beside the taller mech. "I don't know much about the start of the Great War, or the time before that, but I _do_ know from all that has been said since this whole thing started that the Decepticons had started the war because _they_ were being treated as nothing more but weapons and that they _despise_ the idea of being a part of a greater, cohesive system that practically judges a bot's rights depending on their frame."

"It was a return to functionalism from Sentinel's to Nominus' time and they were very much torqued off by it," Ratchet nodded, letting go of his worries, meaning he really had only been venting, which was good, as he was currently Optimus' and Megatron's both personal medic and the only medibot for the eleven of them. "Nova and Megazarak had just barely managed to uproot the worst of it when the assassination happened. I guess some of the principles remained standing, which was why the revolution happened in the first place, especially when Ultra Magnus sanctioned the so called Decepticon Registration Act." He shook his head, sounding sorrowful and resigned. "Sometimes I wonder whether they'd done it on purpose, knowing the reaction would be violent, _counting_ on it being violent so they'd have an excuse to attack the warbuilds and then blame _them_ for the war."

Something in Optimus went frigid cold at that thought and his alarm must have showed, either on his face or in his field, as his friends all looked at him in concern. He also felt Megatron sending a worried inquiry over their bond but his only response to his partner was a request for him to wait. Jazz beat him to saying anything out loud, though.

"You okay there, OP? Because you look kinda cold."

"Just a very nasty thought," he replied, trying to shake off the possibility that the Council had started the war that had cost both sides _so many lives_ on _purpose_. But it was not to be. The thought wouldn't leave his CPU and it left him feeling as though the Energon in his tubes was frozen. His distress couldn't be hidden from his Lord Protector and Optimus was vaguely aware of Megatron coming closer through their bond. "One that needs more time and better circumstances to contemplate. And an investigation. _Primus_, it needs an investigation." If the Council was truly ready to not only drive individual mechs insane but lead their entire _species_ into a seemingly endless war just to remain in power or get more of it, just how were they meant to _stop_ them? Optimus had hoped for a peaceful, civil solution, had hoped he'd think of something, some punishment that will sate Megatron's Protector coding enough not to downright _eliminate_ the threat to both the Prime and their people. Now, though, in the wake of such a frightening thought, Optimus was left doubting whether he _should_ try to stop the Council members' deactivations.

Any mech ready to hurl an entire planet into war was not a mech worth saving. They'll just cause more trouble again at some other point in time. Mechs like that had support and influence in not only respectable people and places. Megatron had given him some of the datapads pertaining to the horrors of Empurata and mnemosurgery and those who delighted in inflicting such crimes on other mechs were still out and about. Sweet AllSpark, retaking Cybertron won't be enough.

"No, it won't." The former Autobots all almost jumped out of their plating when Megatron's voice reached their audios, all whirling around to find the owner of the deep, rumbling voice frowning in Optimus' direction. "We have many things to fix, many mechs to capture, judge, imprison, exile or execute, and none of it will be pleasant or swift. But it is a _must_. Mechs as corrupt as the Councilmembers have influences that run deep, allies that not even the shadows can touch. We'll have to be careful and practice _extreme_ caution. Assassination attempts will be the _least_ of our problems."

"Do you think it's possible?"

That had the warframe blinking at him in confusion before his gaze narrowed. "If we go into this thinking otherwise, we'll never succeed."

But Optimus only shook his head, handing Sari over to Prowl and walking up to his co-ruler-to-be. "No, I don't mean that. I actually _do_ believe it is possible for us to repair our home world. What I meant was, do you really think it's possible that the Council _purposefully_ started the Great War? Do you think they have _knowingly_ sent millions of sparks out to _die_ for no other reason than their insatiable greed for power?" Stunned, horrified silence followed his question, Ratchet finally catching on to what had Optimus reacting so badly from his earlier statement. Megatron was more than shocked to hear this question and didn't really have an answer. He had never actually thought that the Council was _that_ corrupt. "Because, if they were ... I don't know what we can do."

Megatron looked away from the slightly shoulder-slumped figure of his Prime, deep in thought, before returning his gaze into hollow blue ones full of misery at the mere idea of their people's suffering being for _nothing_. The only Decepticon present wanted nothing more than to reach out and pull his counterpart close to his chassis and protect him from the world, but he knew it would do the shorter mech no good. Being the Prime is Pit of a more a burden than simply being the Lord High Protector. Sure, they both were tasked with leading and caring for their people, but the Prime had a much deeper, far more ingrained need to care for them on levels beyond just their safety. As the religious and spiritual leader of all of Cybertron, Terminus and later Megazarak had told the then young Megatron that a Prime's empathy is far more powerful. In a way, it was almost as though he _shared_ whatever their people as a _whole_ were feeling. One of the reasons Primes and Protectors, when ruling as a pair, never failed their people. The Prime could practically _sense_ what they needed and working with the Lord High Protector to provide it. Primes had this ability regardless of the Matrix, although the ancient artifact supposedly made it more bearable. Megatron wished he could somehow help his Prime but all he could give Optimus were his words.

"Perhaps the Matrix of Leadership will have some divine guidance to provide and help us deal with that mess. But we can cross that bridge when we get there," he turned to look at the medic while placing a comforting hand on the red and blue firetruck's shoulder. "Are you prepared to bring him online now or should we wait a bit longer?"

"Just about done. You lot can get out now, but I need Sari and Optimus to stay just long enough for us to utilize the AllSpark." Ratchet replied, trying not to worry too much about Optimus right now. That required a longer conversation than some empty platitudes that he csn offer now. "He and Sari'll be out in a moment."

Megatron scowled at the thought of leaving Optimus behind but nodded anyway and, with a last, brief, gentle squeeze to the red plating, led the other former Autobots out. Soon enough, it was only Optimus, Ratchet and their human friend left in Omega Supreme's dormant spark chamber, the silence almost oppressive between them in the wake of their earlier conversation. Sari was the one who broke it, sounding uncertain, confused and deeply worried.

"Okay, I may be just a kid and I may not be all that well versed in politics and whatnot, but your government sounds very ... unappealing." The little redhead looked between her two friends in concern. "How can you guys live like that?"

"We don't. We just function." The oldest civilianframe currently on Earth sighed bitterly. "We're just _surviving_. This is not what I thought I was fighting for, in the Great War. Not that anyone was _asking_ back then."

"But why didn't anyone protest? You know, before the Decepticons escalated things and it all turned into a war?"

"If you mean before the reign of the Magnus, it was because the Primes were Matrix-bearers, meaning their rule was all but a divine mandate. To oppose a true Prime was unheard and unthought of. If you mean _during_ the Magnus' reign ... Well, let's just say they didn't escalate _anything_. Their reaction was perfectly in proportion to the situation back then. At least, in the beginning of both Megazarak's and Megatron's revolution, before Megazarak went mad and before Megatron was forced to fight Autobots in earnest. Fighting for equal rights and such ain't a bad cause."

"But why didn't anyone start a _peaceful_ protest?"

Optimus was the one to answer her then, voice a bit strain. "Even from just reading about those times, I know that it wasn't exactly a time where you _could_ protest peacefully. Any political dissent was seen as trying to overthrow the ruling government and was treated as such, ending in smelting, mnemosurgery, imprisonment, the Gladiatorial Pits or smelting-"

"If they were _lucky_." Optimus tried not to think too much about the implications behind Ratchet's words and finished his statement.

"There was simply no such thing as a _peaceful protest_ on Cybertron."

"Not that there _could_ have been a peaceful protest," grumbled the older bot. "The enforcers of that time were authorized to use deadly force. Of _course_ only warframes dared protest but they're warframes. Eventually, their tendencies towards battle and violence will show through and with the Elite Guard and the Council edging them on, the revolution turned into a war. Speeches were replaced with battles, protesters with soldiers, orators with generals. War was probably the only way to purge Cybertron's corruption and those who should have been doing the purging were exiled."

"The Decepticons?" Sari sounded downright incredulous at the mere thought of the prospect of Decepticons being the good guys. Ratchet just smiled bitterly, sharp and utterly cold.

"Who do you think felt the brunt of the 'Autobot oppression'? Civilianframes? I think _not_. The Decepticons have every right to hate us. The only thing stopping them from total Autobot annihilation is probably Megatron's Lord High Protector coding. And if Optimus had at any point been offlined ... " He left the end of the sentence hanging there and it didn't take a genius to figure out how it would end. Optimus spark whirled in distress and Sari looked shaken. "Well, let's just say we wouldn't be here today and leave it at that. If there ever was to be another pair, it is almost certain they'd be ruling over only warframes."

"That's terrible! How could anyone do such a thing?"

"To _them_," Optimus said, a startling snarl in his voice that had both his companions watching him with wide optics and eyes, respectively. "The warframes were nothing but expendable tools. Maybe _all_ of us are. I'd prefer it if we could settle all of this peacefully, but I rather doubt it's possible. Especially not if the Elite Guard has time to prepare."

"Good thing that the Cons have so much of the Space Bridges under siege already and that we have Omega to take us to Cybertron." It was all Ratchet could say before he turned back to the situation at hand. "Speaking of which, we should probably get this show on the road before our dear Lord Protector gets his cables in a bunch and storms the ship. Are we ready?"

"As ready as we'll ever be," Sari replied, taking her Key off from around her neck and Optimus put her down on the counsel beside Ratchet before bending down and opening the AllSpark with more ease than it had taken when he and Starscream were playing tug of war with it, that first week on Earth. The AllSpark's blessed light filled the chamber and all three of them stared at it, basking in its warmth. Something in Optimus' very spark stirred and purred and the AllSpark responded with a small pulse of its energy before calming back down. He shook off his dazed surprise and turned to his companions.

"Alright, light it up." Sari nodded and put the Key into a port and the whole ship lit up, the energy of the AllSpark now shooting straight into the empty spark chamber. Ratchet had to shield his optics, but Optimus didn't. He still turned away and started making his way out of the ship. Omega Supreme will be coming back online soon and he had promised Megatron to be within sight - meaning _outside_ the shipformer - when he did. He had just made it to the airlock hatch in the loading bay when the plating under his pedes vibrated slightly as the host spoke in a deep, rumbling, uncertain voice.

"R-Ratchet? Is that you?"

Optimus didn't stay for the rest of the to him now one-sided conversation, instead leaving the ship and moving over to a safer distance, where the other former Autobots were standing by a big, gray Earth ... helicopter, if he remembered what Sari called them correctly. No doubt Megatron. He's only seen the shadow of it so far, as Megatron had stuck to his Cybertronian mode until the Elite Guard had arrived, and a glimpse after the fight. He couldn't stop himself from subconsciously searching for transformation seams and trying to figure out which part of Megatron went where. The warlord looked a great deal different with his Earth alt mode than with his Cybertronian one. Seeing as he didn't register on Optimus' scanner - although, he _did_ very much register in his spark, but that was to be expected and not something Optimus had the time to think about - the dampeners were doing their job and the Prime doubted Omega Supreme can pick him up for a Decepticon, either.

"Everything alright in there?" Prowl asked as soon as he was standing with the rest of the team, all of them watching the Orion as it sat idly where it was parked on Dinobot Island, just innocently sitting there as though it weren't a giant transforming robot. "You took a bit getting out."

"Yeah, everything's fine. Or, hopefully, it will be. It's all up to Ratchet now."

"Great," grumbled their youngest member with slumped shoulders. "Our fate hangs in the balance of Ratchet's diplomatic skills. Awesome. Tell me when the next ride to the scrap heap is so I don't miss it."

"It's more likely that you will be nothing more than slag if your medic friend fails to secure Omega Supreme's loyalty," came Megatron's voice from the parked helicopter, startling the younger former Autobots a little. They weren't exactly used to talking to sentient flying machines, after all. "So we better hope he can restrain him or else we're all done for."

"But isn't Ratch his mentorbot? I don't know much about Project Omega, but all of the Omega Sentinels were made dependent of their mentors," Jazz piped up, frowning at the disguised Decepticon through his visor. "Docbot should be more than able to stop any attacks from Omega, if it comes to that."

"That depends entirely on how much 'freedom' your Science Division left in the primary coding of all Omega Sentinels. The primary coding that says they must protect and sacrifice for the Autobots and that all Decepticons are the enemy against which lethal force is authorized." That made Bumblebee and Bulkhead exchange uncertain looks and Prowl and Jazz stiffen slightly, the only indication of their discomfort. Optimus had to manually stop all of his battle protocols from surging online, especially with the vague impression that Megatron hadn't bothered to smother his own. He couldn't afford to, not when he might have to haul his Prime and four other civilians to safety if Omega's programming labeled them as traitors, Decepticon sympathizers, a threat and starts shooting at them all. A Decepticon may survive a few breems of fire from an Omega Sentinel, depending on how sturdy and durable their plating and protoforn are, until they are offlined, but Autobots were much more fragile. Or rather, civilianframes are. One hit from Omega would turn them to slag.

"I hope Ratchet knows what he's doing," said Bulkhead in a small voice, shifting uncomfortably, probably unused to his own battle protocols blaring at him survival maneuvers that had never before been this insistent. Not with Starscream, not with Soundwave, not with the Dinobots, not with Meltdown, not with Henry Masterson, not with Blitzwing and Lugnut or even with Megatron, in that brief fight after the warlord's body had just been restored. Bulkhead was a gentle being, for all of his lumbering size that landed him more as a smaller Decepticon than an Autobot. He never finished his Autoboot Camp training, so he wasn't used as much to violence as Optimus or the cyberninjas were, who had sparred for most of their lives. Earth may have honed his battle protocols, but that didn't make him any more used to them than he had been previously. Standing in clear range of a threat so clearly bigger and far more powerful than him must be torture.

For Bumblebee, too. Jazz and Prowl had specific cyberninja battle protocols and Ratchet had his own old protocols from the war. Megatron was onlined with them as a warframe and Optimus had trained to be a part of the Elite Guard. Bumblebee and Bulkhead were holding up great for the onslaught their CPU must be throeing at them.

"We have to have faith in him. Ratchet knows how important this is. He won't let us down." Optimus said with confidence in his voice, trying to appear reassuring even when he was fighting against his own battle protocols. "He knows what he's doing. He'll be successful."

"He better be," Megatron grumbled, the quite whine of his Fusion Cannon being cut off by a click every now and then as he tried to stop it from powering up, lest he activate _Omega's_ battle protocols. "For _all_ our sakes." They said nothing after that, standing there in uncomfortable silence and waiting for any sign that they had to flee for their lives. It seemed to stretch on for eternity when they got a ping on the collective frequency, making them startle enough that Bumblebee activated his stingers and the cyberninjas fell into a defensive battle stance. Optimus' mask snapped into place and the Fusion Cannon finally came online. Bulkhead was kind of looking around, unsure as to how he should react and brought out his wrecking ball as an afterthought.

_::We're in the clear. Just make sure nothing explodes around Omega and that the Cons are acting decently.::_

Relief flooded Optimus as he sent a confirming ping back while his friends relaxed and Megatron transformed back into root mode, weapons powering down but battle protocols still blaring. It was okay. They had transport. They can get back to Cybertron now.

They can go home.


	10. Chapter 10

**The Lost Prime**

**Summary: Primes and their Lord High Protectors are made as twins, their sparks coming online together far from other Cybertronian life, protecting one another until the Herald of Primus comes for them. However, the Council can't allow that and the newest Prime goes missing, his Lord Protector tearing Cybertron apart to find him. Every war has its reason. This one is just coming to light. TFA AU**

Megatron had never thought that there would come a day when he would be boarding an Omega Sentinel to be brought back to Cybertron, not as a prisoner, but as its rightful ruler at last. He had honestly thought that the Autobots would even program the giant shipformers with an instant kill order if they ever encountered a Prime and their Lord High Protector, but, thankfully, the Autobots had apparently not seen that as a possibility or a viable threat to their plans so they hadn't bothered with adding so specific a line of code into their machines of mass destruction. A blessing, especially given as Optimus would have been reluctant to let Megatron and his warriors offline Omega if he tried to bring them down.

The Prime's coding could be so inconvenient at times.

Luckily, they hadn't had to face such a situation, as Ratchet had managed to explain the whole thing to Omega Supreme by sharing his own memories with his giant charge. It had taken but a few breems and then Ratchet and Sari had went straight for bringing back online all of Omega's long since dormant systems. Including his transformation sequence. Which was loud and needed some oiling and _very_ obvious and attention-drawing.

At least the people of Detroit had something other than Decepticons to gawk at these days, much to Ratchet's annoyance.

It had actually taken them three more planetary rotations before they were ready to depart. Partially it was their own fault. They had brought a war to Earth's doorstep and they had to secure the planet. His little Prime had been quite adamant about it and wouldn't budge, no matter how much Megatron reasoned the impracticality of it all. Optimus would not let innocent human lives be treated as an inconvenient casualty of their war, which the organics had nothing to do with, in the first place. It was a delight to watch more and more of Optimus' Prime coding take over as he spoke about the rights to freedom for all sentient beings and the need to treasure all of that life. Megatron might not be all that attacked to the little squishies, but Optimus was and so he let the Prime have his way. With the help of Blackarachnia and Starscream, Professor Sumdac managed to extend his protection field from the Sumdac Tower to cover the entirety of Earth, should there be any signs of an attack. He and Bulkhead - who Shockwave, his spy in the Autobot Intelligence, reported was actually a Space Bridge engineering genius, despite the looks of him - then created a pseudo beacon, a something-something stabilizer that will allow them to come back to Earth if it is ever needed.

Then came the repeated argument with Sari about her friends needing to leave and her having to stay behind. Megatron had to admit, the little girl could make quite a bit of noise when she is so inclined. And she had persistence. Persistence matched with half-baked reasoning that was almost logical. Only Optimus was once again putting his foot down. She may keep the AllSpark Key, but it was far too dangerous for her to come to Cybertron in the middle of what was about to be a war in one battle. The argument would have probably gone on far longer than it had - Starscream, Blackarachnia and Random weren't exactly helping - had Isaac Sumdac not decided to drop a bombshell on them. Well, figuratively, anyway.

It turned out the little redhead was a techno-organic and her mechanical half was of _Cybertronian_ origin.

Megatron hadn't paid much attention to the following screaming matches, instead sharing a look with Optimus before both leaders capitulated and let Sari come along _if_ she stayed on Omega Supreme at all times. Sumdac protested, Sari all but told him to sit on a missal and rotate and Megatron closed the rest of the discussion before he got a helmache. If the little one was really of Cybertronian origin, she was officially his and Optimus' responsibility. They couldn't just leave her on Earth until they found out _how_ a fragging _protoform_, if the black and gold cyberninja, Prowl, is to be believed, had gotten to _Earth_. But letting the younger Sumdac come ended up requiring to let the older one, too. He may be more of a sire than a ... father to her, but they were still ... family. They then had to explain _that_ to that earthling, Captain Fanzone, and Detroit's mayor. After all, they _were_ taking away their greatest technological inventor away to a far away planet on rather short notice.

In the end, Megatron had resorted to his old tricks and practically guilt-tripped/manipulated Sumdac in staying to protect Earth, should it be needed. He got a glossa-lashing from his Prime for that, but Optimus appreciated his efforts none the less, as they really didn't need Sumdac to worry about, too. Sari was going to be more than enough.

But that was it regarding their Earth problems. They now had a few problems on Cybertron and the Space Bridge outposts. Well, Cybertron itself was half fine. Shockwave was still uncompromised and had access to the Space Bridge Nexus as well as the prisoners in the Stocades and Trypticon, but there was some civil unrest ever since Optimus accepted Megatron a few weeks ago. Apparently, Cybertron itself had lit up like a candle and quaked like jelly and people were starting to ask questions that the Elite Guard still had no way of answering. Not until the Magnus returned to make an official statement. And there were a few people who actually _knew_ what was going on and were spreading word about it on the Extranet on the planet and to the colonies. Caminus' entire population were preparing celebrations in proportions never before seen on the world and the Mistress of Flame was apparently demanding to speak with the Prime. There were people around the Primal Basilica when the Matrix of Leadership had lit up and the Well of the AllSpark had been shining brightly enough to be distinguished from the station up on Luna 2. No one of cybertronian origin was left uninformed within the first few joors. The Autobot High Command thought it had something to do with the spike of AllSpark energy that had occurred in the same instance Cybertron had reacted, completely disregarding the other likely cause.

As galling as it was to be so overlooked, Megatron was thankful for their continued ignorance of the fact that he had been reunited with his spark twin, his _Prime_. It was probably Alpha Trion's doing, but the old bot wasn't acting out of the ordinary, or so Shockwave has said. Knowing how crafty the ancient mech was, Megatron had no doubt he was somehow evading his best spy, despite said spy's best efforts.

Outside of Cybertron, on the edges of Autobot space, the outposts with Space Bridges were being fought for, his Decepticons not losing a single one as more and more forces gathered around said Space Bridges. His most fearsome General of Destruction, Strika, was keeping the Autobots well occupied, so even if Magnus beat them to Cybertron, none of their troops could just abandon such active battlefield, nor could they spare any numbers. Not with how viciously his people were attacking. Not with how many prisoners they were taking. Not without losing territory, strategic points and important strongholds. Not without the noose around Cybertron closing in. Not without the Magnus and the Council both losing face and the weak support of the people. He will need to greatly reward Strika and Shockwave both. Had it not been for them, the Decepticon Cause would have been lost fifty stellar cycles ago, when he had went offline.

He hoped Optimus will like them. He was uneasy enough around Blitzwing, Lugnut and Starscream in the beginning, due to their previous interactions. He will have to get used to the idea of big, looming warbuilds being deferential towards him, and Strika was probably the best for that. She was loyal to a fault and respectful, but she was a lot more liberate where deference was concerned. It would let Optimus get comfortable with such treatment. Shockwave was also pretty logical about it and he was nowhere like Lugnut in his displays of loyalty. No overbearing speeches or grand gestures that usually made Megatron's optics 'twitch'. It also helped that, like only very few Decepticons and warframes in general, they were grounders and not flightframes, so that might help with expanding Optimus' comfort zone. It might turn out to be a rather slow process. After all, Optimus was barely used to being respected as a commander of Space Bridge repair bots. Going from that to a Prime had left him out of balance like nothing else could have and the following responsibilities and expectations attached to the title were definitely not something one could get used to. If they could, then they are definitely not suited to be a _real_ Prime.

That didn't make it any less necessary for Optimus to get used to being the center of a people. Primes were the 'heart' of Cybertronians as one people, whether they live on Cybertron, its two moons, their many colonies, Caminus or any world outside of Cybertron's immediate influence. Their people looked to the Prime for guidance while the Lord High Protector mostly dealt with protection of their interests and interplanetary relations. Megatron was used to running an army. He was used to dealing with various species. He was programmed for that, sparked for it. Megatron had needed a long time to get used to the idea of having to deal with some of the Prime's responsibilities as well, feeling the absence of his second half especially acutely when he had to speak with bots like Cyclonus or anyone close resembling him, bots old enough to remember at least _two_ Primes and their protectors. They knew the new Prime was lost and so they had to address their concerns to him. He was not meant to deal with the more civilian matters, such as architecture, economy and, most of all, their all but forgotten religion. He was the Protector of the conduit of Primus, not a Prime himself! Hopefully, Optimus will take to his duties like a 'duck to water' as the human saying goes.

"Are we ready to launch?" Ratchet's voice broke the warlord out of his musings and he nodded, along with the other Decepticons, while the Autobots all sounded their response. Omega Supreme himself affirmed that everything was ready and Ratchet warned them that the transwarp won't be gentle. Sari Sumdac seemed to be the most excited about all of this, counting down from ten until they lifted off. She gave a whoop as the Omega Sentinel quickly took to the atmosphere and then left it, leaving Earth behind like a small marbel. "Transwarp in ten breems."

Blitzwing, Lugnut and Starscream remained tense but their weapons were still offline, so at least they had a handle of their battle protocols. Blackarachnia looked both uncomfortable and in place in the Autobot ship, her days as an Autobot and her experiences as a Decepticon warring with each other for dominance. Well, that or she didn't know what to think about her once best friend turning out to be a Prime and taking her back to a home she had thought she'd never see again due to Autobot xenophobia, especially where organics and techno-organics were concerned. The Autobots had all apparently gotten used to them by now, though the cyberninjas still tensed at every bump or clang and Bumblebee and Ratchet apparently still got perfectly well on each other's nerves. Still, everyone seemed to be doing okay and no one appeared ready to start shooting, so the Lord High Protector took the chance to come to stand next to his Prime.

"So," he started in a casual tone, not giving anything away. "I had an interesting conversation with Ratchet last recharge cycle."

For some unexplainable reason, Optimus choked on his next intake, his vents sputtering on the atmosphere in the ship. The others turned to look at them, but Megatron glared at them a little and they turned back to whatever they were doing before. He turned back to look to his companion, only to find Optimus' face radiating alarming amounts of heat. "W-what?" The red and blue mech stuttered out, much to Megatron's confusion. He hadn't exactly said anything particularly confusing or ... Was Optimus _embarrassed_? Whatever for? "Oh? R-really? What about?"

Megatron frowned but figured he might understand his companion's reaction if he continued the conversation as he had started it. "He seems to be of the impression that I need to work on my courting gifts. Apparently, giving you Earth as one is unacceptable."

"_What_!?"

The Lord Protector nodded. "My thoughts exactly. A planet is the _perfect_ courting gift for a Prime. Megazarak gifted Nova with _two_ planets and Galvatron had given an entire _solar system_ to Sentinel. Well, before he was offlined, anyway. Earth is a small gift. But, then again, I will also present to you the reaches of the Decepticon Empire, which, I think, outdo any other Lord High Protector's courting gift to their Prime. I figured that it was only appropriate, seeing as you brought meaning back to my Cause. And my function."

Optimus had calmed somewhat - apparently, embarrassment quickly gave way to indignation and righteousness on behalf of the humans, the Prime's coding and own morale code not allowing him to let that slip by - but his embarrassment returned with a vengeance when Megatron admitted to that last fact, much to Megatron's fond amusement. It was endearing and -dare he say it? - _cute_. Should he find his Prime cute? Not that propriety meant much to him in the first place. He only cared about his Prime. It was like a balm to all of his scars and war wounds to have the younger near him again.

"A planet is _not_ a sufficient _or_ acceptable courting gift!" Optimus finally managed to squeak out, surprising his companion somewhat with the frequency his voice somehow reached. The odd sound brought the attention of their traveling companions back to them and this time they weren't as easily cowed by a glare as they were the last time. Well, except Lugnut. At least he was polite enough - and obedient enough - to take a hint and give them some 'privacy'. The younger cyberninja, Prowl, also looked away, although his white companion seemed interested enough for the both of them. All of the former Autobots, save Ratchet, who just grumbled under his intake about the 'pigheadedness' of Lord Protectors before returning to preparing them for the jump, were too busy gawking at them. Yes, even Blackarachnia.

"Why not?"

"Why not!?" Optimus quickly went from embarrassed and indignant to downright frazzled and a bit angry. "Because planets usually house living beings! _Sentient_ living beings! You can't gift me _sentient beings_! It's wrong, it's unethical, it's unacceptable and inexplicable!"

"They're already a part of my Empire, which will be combined with the current Autobot Commonwealth," the Decepticon Lord reasoned, but Optimus was in a snit over this already and would not be reasoned with. Megatron could do nothing more than look at his counterpart in bemusement as Optimus scolded him about this thing or the other. It's not as if the people on Decepticon controlled world were maltreated! Most of them might not be of Cybertronian origin, but they still fell under his jurisdiction. They were treated well. They were free to move about as they wished. There was no registration act nor did they lack standard rights. The Decepticons even protected them from any other malicious species that wanted to conquer them and they had free reign over their trade. In return, Megatron just asked for a quarter of their resources. Sure, that could sound downright tyrannical, but given that the Decepticons allowed them to keep their own _weapons_ \- in most cases, anyway - it spoke a great deal about how they were treated. Autobot colonies may have to give only 20% of their resources during peace time, but if a war was ever to break out, all but the most essential resources would be taken from those colonies and their people would be used in the war effort, regardless of how involved or not they were in it. Decepticons were the mightiest warrior race in the universe, an army like no other. They had no use for weaker species in their ranks so they didn't bother recruiting anyone but fellow Cybertronians. Sure, rare few individuals joined their ranks for short periods of time but that was the exception rather than a rule.

Megatron really didn't understand Optimus' indignation and said as much. Optimus stared at him for a few seconds before closing his intake and just shaking his head. "Integrate them into our borders, sure, but they are _not_, and neither are their planets, a part of your courting gift for me."

"So you wouldn't be opposed by a gift, just this one and would hypothetically accept an entirely different one," he observed, knowing he sounded way more pleased than he probably should. Optimus was staring at him incredulously again and Megatron huffed. "What?"

"You really want to court me?" And the Prime was back to squeaking again. And to the flushing. Megatron swore the Prime's face was lighting up with Energon in his embarrassed state. Primes really _shouldn't_ be this endearing and yet his was. He wondered if he was biased and dismissed the thought. Optimus was beautiful, his Prime or not. It made sense he would be adorable, too.

"Of course. I had intended to give you at least _one_ proper courting gift before we bonded and then throughly woo you right off your stabilizer struts once all of this nonsense is over. If you would allow me, that is. Unfortunately we are short on time and the best I could find on that mud-ball was the planet itself. But since you're so against it, I guess I will simply have to find something else." He might have made it sound like more of a chore than it was - especially as he was delighted in having such a debate with his Prime and prompting him to speak out more and more his opinions, reversing the damage those idiotic fools in the Elite Guard have done - but the gentle shyness that pulsed across their bond was definitely worth it.

What he didn't expect, though, was his counterpart's response.

"Secure an alliance and a working trade with the humans. Bring Earth under our protection in front of the Galactic Council. Bring us home. Don't kill Ultra Magnus and the Council - exile or lifelong imprisonment will do, after a fair trial, of course. Don't punish or reject the Autobots; instead, remind them what it means to be _Cybertronian_. Help me rebuild our world." Optimus met his optics squarely. "There. That's all I ask. Six courting gifts for the six weeks you've been courting me. Though, if you could not annoy or aggravate Alpha Trion or gloat too much when we meet him, that would be a great bonus."

They were all openly staring at them now. Not even Lugnut or Prowl or Ratchet were bothering to pretend otherwise. The former Autobots were apparently further shocked by the boldness of Optimus' requests. The Decepticons were waiting with bathed vents. Sari was barely breathing.

Megatron smiled. "I think we can manage that." He chuckled as Optimus relaxed and smiled back, almost beaming at the warbuild. His co-ruler really was just too cute. And far too kind.

The Decepticons broke out into cheers that the civilianframes soon enough joined as they realized that their courtship was now a little more than official. Sari gave an excited squee and high-fived Bumblebee and Blitzwing's Random persona. Blackarachnia didn't really seem to know how exactly to react, but she seemed happy enough for her former friend.

"Attention. Jump point ahead. Transwarp to Cybertron in five kliks." Omega's booming voice interrupted their impromptu celebration and had Ratchet snapping at them all to get strapped in. Megatron did so, right next to his Prime, and they waited. He cast a look from the corner of his optics at that blue faceplate and his spark skipped a few harmonics when he saw the excited twinkle in those blue optics.

As Omega began glowing with transwarp energy, Megatron couldn't help but smile.

A bright future awaited Cybertron.


	11. Chapter 11

**The Lost Prime**

**Summary: Primes and their Lord High Protectors are made as twins, their sparks coming online together far from other Cybertronian life, protecting one another until the Herald of Primus comes for them. However, the Council can't allow that and the newest Prime goes missing, his Lord Protector tearing Cybertron apart to find him. Every war has its reason. This one is just coming to light. TFA AU**

Not seeing their home planet in around a thousand stellar cycles had been a cruel and undeserved punishment that Optimus had not expected. It was all but exile, the only difference being that they still received orders, fuel and Energon through the Space Bridges they fixed. Whatever perceived wrongs they have committed in the optics of the Elite Guard and their government, Optimus, Bumblebee and Bulkhead didn't deserve to not be allowed to return home for a thousand stellar cycles. Ratchet had welcomed being away from High Command and the Council and Prowl had been in his own self-imposed exile and isolation for his own reasons, that he had only revealed after the incident with finding out Sari was half Cybertronian had happened. None of the five Earth-bound former Autobots had seen their home planet in around a thousand stellar cycles. It was not a fate Optimus wished on any bot.

He shuddered at the thought of how the Decepticons had been fearing. They'd been exiled from Cybertron before the war was over. In fact, they had been driven off planet sometime in the first million stellar cycles. Which meant well over three million one thousand and fifty one stellar cycles that no one, save their current agent in Autobot Intelligence, had seen Cybertron with red optics, not a _single_ Decepticon. How that had not demoralized the soldiers will forever remain a mystery to Optimus and he will forever respect the Decepticon's persistence.

To see it now calmed something uncomfortable in Optimus' spark that had been there after the first hundred stellar cycles. He wondered what it did to the Decepticons.

Cybertron was still making a light show, like it has been since the Prime had accepted his Lord High Protector within reach of the AllSpark. It made the metalloid planet, their god and creator made physical, even more beautiful than Optimus had expected. Maybe it was because he missed it, maybe it was the glow, but Optimus was actually sure that what made Cybertron so beautiful to him right now was the sensation in his spark. It would appear that, now that he was aware of who he was, the planet itself _called_ to him on so intimate a level that Optimus shuddered. The spark-deep conviction that this was _his_ world, _his_ to rule and guide and _protect_, could only go so far without having some consequence. He couldn't _wait_ to set his stabilizers on Cybertron's surface and be even closer to the Spark of their Creator.

Primus was calling and the Prime was sure that call extended to his Lord High Protector as well, judging by the look on Megatron's face.

They were home.

But so was Ultra Magnus, only fifteen kliks in front of them, heading straight for Cybertron. He was no doubt already informing the Council and the Elite Guard defenses to expect the opponents to their rule. If they didn't somehow stop that transmission, Megatron's agent on Cybertron might get into an uncomfortable situation, one that might cost him his spark if he was not careful. Optimus didn't want to be responsible, in any way, for another's offlining.

"Medical Officer Ratchet, if you would please be so kind as to enter this frequency into your communication module and patch me through." Optimus' head snapped up to face his counterpart, he was oh so casually handing the suspicious Ratchet a datachip that no doubt contained the exact frequency he needed. That he wasn't sending it as a data packet or reciting it to the medic had Optimus' spinal strut straightening and going rigid. Judging from how still Jazz had gone, his must have done the same.

Still, Ratchet did as he was told and a moment later, a brightly colored Decepticon greeted them. "Ah, Lord Megatron, your timing is as immaculate as always. General Strika has just informed me that they have taken the last Space Bridge and that all troops are ready to go. And in just the right moment as well. Ultra Magnus has been trying to hail Fortress Maximus for the past five breems. I was unsure for how much longer I could keep him out before he contacted the Council itself."

"So everything is in order, my most loyal Shockwave?" Optimus thought he saw Lugnut jerk and make a strange expression with the parts of his face that allowed it - mostly his optics - but the lumbering Decepticon didn't say anything. With a start, the red and blue mech realized Lugnut must be jealous of the praise Shockwave was getting from his beloved Lord Megatron. Had the situation been any less dire, Optimus might have giggled. It was just that absurd.

"Indeed, Lord Megatron. Everything is just as you ordered. Alpha Trion even provided me with a safe house, should things not go as planned, so I will not be captured or offlined. He also said he'll be keeping the Council busy. I had wondered why he would do that but he was very vague when I asked." Optimus almost couldn't stop the snicker that wanted to escape him at _that_. He had met Alpha Trion, once or twice, and the old mech had always let his eyes linger on Optimus, something the Prime had always wondered about but ultimately brushed off. He was always vague if the back-then-cadet ever had the chance to speak with him - with how often he frequented the Archives, it was bound to happen, although it was far more often that Optimus had found Alpha Trion observing him from a distance with a thoughtful frown on his faceplates - so Optimus could guess at how frustrated Shockwave, an intelligence spy, might feel at getting no concrete answer if he even got one at all. "It would seem he has been expecting you. The Primal Basilica has been cleared out and the entire Council, save Ultra Magnus, his protégé Sentinel not-Prime and Jazz Minor, who is apparently on the ship with you."

"Good. That makes things easier." Megatron nodded in approval and Shockwave did a little head bob as if it were a half bow. "Connect me through, Shockwave. The time has finally come for us to reclaim what is rightfully ours and to end this silly war."

"At once, my liege." They all watched as Shockwave turned to some computer, typing some things in before he turned back to look at them, his antlers betraying something akin to excitement, if their gestures were anything like Optimus' antennas'. "You are through, Lord Megatron."

Megatron just nodded and reached over to the captain's chair, pressing the comm button there before touching his own comm unit. There was some static before it cleared and the warlord straightened up, arms going behind his back in a very military-casual stance that radiated power and confidence. Optimus sort of envied him for the ease with which he such a stance and hoped he'll be able to do it himself one day soon. He'll need it, if he's to lead their people.

"My fellow Cybertronians." Almost everyone on Omega Supreme jumped when Megatron's voice reached their audials from four sources: the mech himself, their comm units, from the outside (no doubt Omega's exterior speakers and maybe the satellites orbiting Cybertron that were close enough to the planet to still be in its atmosphere without being in the reach of the gravity pull) and from Cybertron itself, no matter how muted it might be. After all, when all speakers were transmitting the same thing on the entire planet, it tended to be audiable even in space. "This is Lord High Protector Megatron speaking. Today is the day that the Elite Guard and their corrupt Council _fall_. Today is the day they pay for stealing my _Prime_, _your_ Prime, from right under our olfactory sensors. Today is the day that this war _ends_. I hereby give the Elite Guard and all remaining Autobot military forces exactly one joor to sound off a ceasefire or my army and I will come for the Council ourselves. This is the end of an era of oppression, Cybertron. You are _not_ replaceable cogs in some grand machine that keeps the Council on top, enjoying the fruits of our labors. You are _my people_ and I have sworn to protect you, even if it must be from yourselves. I have the AllSpark. I have Omega Supreme, the last intact and now online Omega Sentinel. My army has all of your Space Bridge outposts under my command. My Prime has the Magnus Hammer. We do not wish to spill any more Energon. You were never meant to suffer so for the few that make up the Council and the Elite Guard High Command. This is my _final_ warning. If we must, we will come in through force. It pains my spark just how many have already been extinguished in this meaningless, fruitless war that could have been ended when my Prime and I were sparked. Yes, the Prime is indeed still online. The Council has been keeping secrets from you. Do not expect the Decepticons to bow down to the rules and customs of your Council- controlled and limited society. We are not gentle. We are not docile. We have different traditions, but warbuilds are _still_ Cybertronians. Your corrupt Council has denied us our home and our rights long enough. Today, it ends. Today, it _all_ ends. Make your choice, Cybertron, for Primus already has. We will be welcomed, with or without you."

As soon as he finished, Megatron cut off the transmission and turned to Optimus, who had been staring in disbelief at the sheer neural net to announce that speech. On _every_ frequency. He had no doubt Megatron's soldiers got the message and were just ready to jump through the Space Bridges at their leader's command. The Autobots will be panicking. Megatron had come off as half aggressive, half passive-aggressive in his message and that in itself will cause a stir. The news of him returning with the lost Prime will have mechs breaking down Fortress Maximus' doors in a matter of Earth minutes. Optimus had no doubt that a number of soldiers will turn on their commanders. The amount of Autobots sitting in Decepticons brigs is astounding. The rest of their forces were stretched thin from trying to protect Space Bridge outposts. Megatron had made himself _very_ clear as to what he expected and what he wanted.

He had just signed the Council's death warrants for them.

"I hope my message does not displease you, my Prime, but it was necessary. I will _not_ stand for any more of their slag. This has gone on long enough."

Optimus thought back to all that has been said and knew he could find little to no fault in Megatron's speech. The only thing that could be taken as a negative was the slightly aggressive edge his voice had taken in a few places. Nothing too damaging to their image, however. "I find it acceptable, though I don't know how the general populace will take to it. Especially not the part about the Council and what they did to me." Primes were sacred. Even in the religiously repressed society that had come after the war, people still spoke of Primes with reverence and deference and he didn't mean just the Thirteen Primes. Even Primes like himself were spoken of as though they were demigods.

He found the thought of people treating him like that to his face a bit intimidating. Hopefully, they won't take it too far.

"They will probably have a riot on their servos soon enough," was all Ratchet said as they waited for a response.

"So, what now?" Sari asked, looking around the bots in the ship before going back to staring at Cybertron with wonder in her eyes. This would be the first time she was encountering her second home. Optimus wondered if she was as jittery and nervous as he had been back on Earth when they had first woken from their fifty stellar cycle nap.

"All we can do now is wait," Starscream was the one to answer, servos crossed over the cockpit on his chest. "Hope it won't take them long to make the sensible decision and just _end_ this already. I have an entire flying city to rebuild!"

"I think you may have just jinxed us," Bumblebee said with a nervous laugh, pointing to where the Steelhaven was turning around to face them, Omega Supreme's battle protocols flaring to life at the activation of the blue and silver ship's weapon systems.

"I see they have made their choice," Megatron sneered, sending one look to Shockwave and it was enough. The mech on Cybertron just pressed a single button on his counsel and the Space Bridge Nexus in Iacon came to life. Even from this high up, they could see the first Decepticon ships making it through even as the Steelhaven opened fire on them. Omega wasted no time in dodging it and entering evasive maneuvers, avoiding every one of the Autobot fleet's best ship's attacks with an ease only a sentient ship in control of their own flight systems could.

There was still no official response from the Council.

Shockwave's established galaxy-wide comm link, though, revealed that one third of the remaining Autobot forces was standing down and sounding a ceasefire. The Decepticon generals were in the process of finding a way to detain them until they captured the rest before going to Cybertron themselves. Strike was already on Cybertron with her infamous Team Charr and they were subduing anyone who tried to get close to the Nexus and Shockwave. Then, to further ease the invasion, Shockwave hacked Trypticon and opened all cells, releasing the captured Decepticons from their imprisonment. There were rare few Autobots stationed there, seeing as the prison itself was run by Minicons, who were neutral and didn't bother stopping the inmates from getting _out_. That, or maybe they supported the Prime and Protector regime themselves and just wanted to return to it. Everyone so far has been talking about how much better things were when a Prime and a Lord High Protector ruled in harmony. Kaon, the former Decepticon capital, was back in warframe servos within breems. There were mostly workers there and the city itself was not re-inhabited, seeing as it was impractical for grounders.

The Space Bridge Nexus wasn't the only junction that Shockwave opened, though, which meant other Decepticon cities soon followed, starting with Vos, Tarn and Rodion. Crystal City fell soon enough, too, when the seeker armada finally made it through the Space Bridges. Starscream was on the comms with them, directing them into position, firing to disable, not offline and he would be joining them, just as soon as there was an opening from the Steelhaven's fire. It was with startling ease that the Decepticons took back their home world and Optimus couldn't help but wonder just _how_ the Autobots had won in the first place, as he watched. Megatron was right. Even with all the technological advancements of the Space Bridges and the Omega Sentinels and the power of the Magnus Hammer, the Autobots shouldn't have been able to win. Not against the efficiency and ease with which warframes took to battle. They were _made_ to wage war in the most efficient way possible. Autobots were all civilians. Megatron was _right_. They had relied on the warframes' coding to _protect_ those same civilians to stop the Decepticons from releasing all of their military might against them.

But the civilians weren't fighting them anymore. Whether it was Megatron's speech, the incompetence of the Elite Guard in stopping the Decepticons from coming to Cybertron or the fact that Megatron was _indeed_ the Lord High Protector and the planet was _glowing_ so of course he had found the lost Prime, Optimus wasn't sure. He just knew that civilians were surrendering themselves or hiding in their homes, letting the warframes take their cities with minimal resistance from the Elite Guard and the Autobot soldiers on the planet. Hell, one of the _Elite Guard_ had changed sides and was _helping_ the Decepticons at the Nexus, often returning to Shockwave's side and giving some - to Optimus at least, with how fast he was talking - incomprehensible status reports every now and then before running off again. Needless to say, the Steelhaven was their biggest worry and the Prime narrowed his optics.

"Can't we return fire?" He asked Ratchet, startling the red and white ambulance. "At least warning shots? We need to get out of their range. At least long enough for Starscream to fly out and go to the seekers. A concentrated air attack of smaller, faster jets is the only way we can take Tyger Pax and we'll want to take it, as that's where their Energon supply for Fortress Maximus is coming from. They have a Space Bridge separate from the Nexus, just in case of something like this happening."

"Be careful with Praxus!" Prowl snapped at Megatron as they all watched on various screens and displays as Cybertron was swiftly conquered. "That's where the protoforms are kept! If you blow it up, you can say goodbye to any new bots for at least a hundred years!"

Megatron only relied a command to the unit in Praxus and the bombs and explosions going off in that city were almost halved. He then turned to Optimus and arched an optic ridge, sending him a data packet with a frequency in it. "You know your Elite Guard the best. Deal with it. Tyger Pax is yours. You leave Ultra Magnus to me." Optimus was about to protest but the Decepticon warlord was already turning around and barking for Lugnut and Blitzwing to follow him and for Starscream to be ready to go down to Tyger Pax. For once, the Decepticon Second in Command made no comment and fell behind the Lord High Protector as easily as Lugnut. "Shockwave, you are to listen to Optimus Prime's orders as though they have come from me. Blackarachnia, little grounders, I trust you will be competent enough to keep our Prime safe. Decepticons, transform and rise up!"

By the time the Cons made it to the holding bay, Ratchet had managed to get Omega to fire enough warning shots to keep the Steelhaven far away enough for them to put some distance between them. Omega opened his hatch and the warframes all flew out, Starscream making a straight line for Tyger Pax, opening a comm for Optimus so they had a direct link between them and didn't need to rely solely on Shockwave to keep them in contact. Megatron, Blitzwing and Lugnut, though, went straight for the Steelhaven, firing their weapons at it to give Omega Supreme a chance to get out of harm's way. Optimus watched for a moment, entranced by the ease with which the Decepticons evaded the much bigger ships cannons. The Steelhaven might have been kept in good shape, but there were only two mechs currently operating it and it simply wasn't enough, not against experienced warframes. And with how viciously gleeful Megatron felt over their link, with how much _anger_ was burning just beneath the surface, it made perfect sense that he wanted to rub it in the Magnus' face just how superior he was to the Autobot Supreme Commander.

If warframes could weaponize their egos, only Ratchet's weaponized glares would be able to stand up to them. Optimus _really_ couldn't believe this was his life.

A ping from Starscream had him snapping out of his musings and focusing on the screen showing the current battle going on in Tyger Pax. After the last battle, the city had made several modifications to better fortify their defenses against arial attacks. It was very unlikely that Shockwave had gotten to them, as the plans were never put in any database but the Hall of Records and Alpha Trion was the one set to keep them secret so no Decepticon can ever get their servos on it. Or any Autobot, for that matter. It had always made Optimus wonder how come _he_ always had unrestricted access to the _entire_ Archives when he was a young bot, but he had always assumed that it was because he was an Academy cadet. Now, he wondered whether Alpha Trion had known, or at least _suspected_ just _who_ was lurking around in his domain. Optimus would be more surprised if that _wasn't_ the case, but that brought up the question of _why_ hadn't Alpha Trion led him to the Matrix of Leadership before? It actually made Optimus doubt both himself and Megatron's intentions, but the almost bond between them was undeniable. If nothing else, Megatron wasn't lying to him about them being twin sparks.

But were they really Prime and Lord High Protector? Everyone seems to think so.

A big explosion on the screen shook him out of his musing and he set it aside, at least for now. He'll have time to contemplate it all later. There was a battle going on, mechs were risking their _lives_ and their sparks had been entrusted in his hands. The defenses of Tyger Pax as an extremely important strategic hold were on a need to know basis, so that meant there were up to fifty mechs outside the Council and the Magnus that knew about them, excluding Optimus himself. It meant only fifty mechs were working on those weapons while foot soldiers were uselessly shooting at the sky with ordinary Energon guns and pistols. The defense systems resembled an extremely scaled down version of Fortress Maximus and were designed to aim up high, seeing as seekers had nearly taken Tyger Pax in the war. The lowest height they could aim for is a good ten mechanometers above the city rooftops. From what he had seen on Earth, Optimus knew that Starscream was perfectly capable of flying through cities _much_ smaller in proportion than even a city designed for Minicons. Tyger Pax was a luxurious, artistic city. Their streets were wide and long and the towers there were high enough to obscure seekers from sight. The Autobots won't be protecting the streets, no doubt rather focusing their forces on protecting the Space Bridge and the base of their cannons.

A grave strategic failure that the Autobots had never bothered to address. One that Optimus was aiming to exploit shamelessly. That Energon must _not_ be delivered to Fortress Maximus, or the number of Decepticon - and no doubt civilian Autobot - sparks that would be extinguished when the Council orders open fire on them will be too big of a loss.

Optimus hoped that the Elite Guard hadn't bothered to fix anything in their defenses in the last thousand and fifty stellar cycles as he commed the Vosian Airlord. "Starscream, have most of your troops distracting the shooters and take the rest down to bellow city skyline. The streets should be wide enough for you to fly in between the buildings and most main roads lead straight to the stronghold. The cannons can't go bellow the city skyline. I repeat, the cannons _can't_ go bellow city skyline. That's your safest route."

_::Affirmative, Prime. Changing formation. Starscream out.::_

"If I may, Lord Prime, how do you know about the cannons? I've been searching for a weakness in the stronghold for at least three hundred stellar cycles and I've never found any files regarding them." Shockwave called for his attention and Optimus reset his optics at the 'Lord Prime', but figured he'll have to get used to it. Besides, now wasn't exactly the time to focus on such things.

"The information regarding that base is need-to-know only. Only the mechs stationed there, and the Council, know _anything_ about it. The only reason _I_ know anything about it, though, is because there physical are files on it in the Hall of Records and I rather doubt Alpha Trion would have let you get anywhere near them. Why he let me is a question I'll have to ask him myself." He looked back to the screen showing Tyger Pax and saw that one of the cannons had been taken out, seven more remaining. The Space Bridge was, unfortunately, active, too. "Shockwave, is there any way you could scramble the connection between the Space Bridges? I know that one isn't connected to the Nexus, but there _has_ to be a way to interfere with that delivery, otherwise Fortress Maximus will have enough Energon to start shooting soon enough."

"I do not know," the Decepticon spy hummed, shifting through some files on his computer. "But I have no doubt one of your teammates, Bulkhead, would. He appears to be a Space Bridge expert, judging by his files. If he has any suggestions, I'd greatly appreciate it."

All of the mechs and two femmes turned to look at the big green bot with surprise and he shifted uncomfortably. "What? I had a lot of time to read at the Energon farms! And Space Bridge schematics were always just so ... interesting. I guess I just had a knack for it."

"Figures that the one thing your awesome at is going to let the Decepticons conquer Cybertron." Bumblebee teased, only to yelp when Prowl smacked him over the head. "Hey! What was that for!?"

"As strange as it is to still think it, the Decepticons are our allies. And we're not _conquering_ Cybertron."

"If anything, we're _freeing_ it." Ratchet finished for him and opened up an interface between Bulkhead's station and Shockwave directly. "Show 'em what ya got, kid. The Elite Guard will be sorry as Pit for letting ya go!"

Optimus will never admit it, but Ratchet's almost maniacal laughter set his plating crawling. He had known Ratchet was sick of the corrupt system, but he had never guessed that the medic was _this_ sick of it. Then again, he had seen what it was like before the war, during the rule of a united Prime and Lord High Protector. Optimus hoped he'll be able to live up to Nova Prime's legacy and Megatron's expectations.

Besides, he himself was a bit vindictive as he watched the bots who had discarded them all got what they deserved. His team consisted all of exceptional bots and the Elite Guard hadn't recognized or acknowledged that, just labeled them as outcasts. To them, they were nothing more than repair bots, useless grease grunts. Optimus was glad for a chance to prove them wrong.

As the human saying goes, karma is a bitch.


	12. Chapter 12

**The Lost Prime**

**Summary: Primes and their Lord High Protectors are made as twins, their sparks coming online together far from other Cybertronian life, protecting one another until the Herald of Primus comes for them. However, the Council can't allow that and the newest Prime goes missing, his Lord Protector tearing Cybertron apart to find him. Every war has its reason. This one is just coming to light. TFA AU**

If Shockwave is to be believed, then there had been no need to worry about his little Prime as Optimus easily took command of the squadrons in Tyger Pax and provided vital information for Iacon as well. The younger bot had taken to leadership in a far too pleasing way that made Megatron regret he couldn't be there to watch as all reservations that Optimus still clung to because of his Aurobot-led life simply fell away as his natural charm and leadership surge to the surface. Though, considering how he was very much tempted to purr in the _middle of battle_ at the mere _thought_ of it, perhaps it is for the best that he wasn't around. After all, he can afford only two of the courting gifts Optimus had requested for now. The rest he could get only if they defeat the Elite Guard, which was looking more and more like a sure victory as his High Command and Prime synchronized their attacks. He'll admit to surprise when Omega Supreme dived for Cybertron and actively fought against the Autobot troops there when they tried to come at Strika and her squadron down there from behind or to destroy the Space Bridges while more of their troops and war ships were coming through.

Even if Omega Supreme was aiming to discourage and distract rather than offline, Megatron was _very_ glad to have the shipformer on their side. Just the sight of him had many Autobots fleeing for their functions, making the battle all the more easier. And Ultra Magnus and his Steelhaven were far too busy with Megatron's team, now joined by a few more heavy hitters similar to Lugnut's frame, to try and turn on the giant mech.

And then Fortress Maximus stirred and Megatron felt fear grip his spark. Appearently, whatever meager Energon supplies have been transported through the Space Bridge at Tyger Pax before Starscream destroyed the junction was enough for the dreaded cannons to activate. The number of shots the Autobots had wasn't known. Starscream was trying to find out while still dealing with the Elite Guard there. Not that the number mattered much. A few strategic shots would be enough to either scramble their armada or, the much worse option, it will take down Omega Supreme as the biggest threat, taking Optimus with it. They wouldn't even have time to get to the escape pods.

_::Attention all air units. Draw attention from Fortress Maximus away from Omega Supreme. I repeat, Omega Supreme is not to be fired upon! That is your _Prime_ in there!::_

He dodged another attack from the blue and silver ship and turned to watch the happenings in Iacon as Lugnut tried to penetrate the force field around the Steelhaven with POKE and he saw as several very tempting targets took to the air, but it was too late. Fortress Macimus had already zeroed in on the giant shipformer, took aim and fired. Megatron felt like his spark was being crushed by an invisible grip that sent a cold wave throughout his body as he watched the powerful energy blast heading for Omega Supreme. The Sentinel managed to avoid most of it, by some miracle, but one of his thrusters was hit and the giant mech was having trouble staying in the air. There was no way he'll be able to dodge the next shot in his current condition, even if young Sari Sumdac was already using her AllSpark Key to repair the damage.

_::Fire upon Fortress Maximus, blast you!::_ He thundered over the comms just as a lucky blast from Steelhaven nearly knocked him out of the sky, coming too close for comfort and burning his heavy plating on his left side. Good thing it hadn't been his right or his Fusion Cannon would have been damaged, or worse yet, it would have exploded and left him in much the same state he had been on Earth before he regained his body. He turned around and glared death at the Autobot ship, powering up his cannon to its full power and charging at the ship at full thrust power, evading any incoming attacks until he was close enough and he fired. His Fusion Cannon was a startlingly powerful weapon, especially at full power, and actually managed to break through the shield and destroy the forcefield generator, exposing Steelhaven to his soldiers fire. A roar of victory and battle-lust escaped their intakes but Megatron ignored them, whirling back around to see what had become of the Orion.

Only to reset his optics as a stroke of lightning all but fried the cannons on Fortress Maximus in a swift, deadly display of power.

His comm unit received a ping. It was from Strika. _::My Lord, why have you failed to inform us the little Prime could use the slagging _Hammer_ like it's a toy?::_ Despite how the sentence was phrased words-wise, Strika sounded far more approving and excited at the prospect of his little Prime's power than one may expect. _::He's totting it about as if he's been protoformed with it in servo and the Autobots are scrambling to get out of the way as he swings it around. This is something you should tell your General of Destruction, Lord Megatron.::_

_::Wait, where is he?::_ If Strika could see Optimus, then ... He looked away from the point where he could still see occasional electric currents sparking into sight - he wondered just how big of a light show Optimus was actually putting up if it was visible from the orbit - and found Omega Supreme back in the air, hovering over the now offline Fortress Maximus. They must have flown over Iacon low enough for Optimus to jump out and get a clear shot from the ground. Even with the Magnus Hammer in servo, Optimus was a far smaller target compared to war ships and some of the Decepticons. Blackout was humongous compared to an ordinary Autobot. Utterly wasted where his special powers are concerned in the Space Bridge Nexus, seeing as he can't short out the circuitry there or else their army can't get through, but he was an excellent fighter and was holding back a couple of troops of Autobots all on his own.

_::He's currently fighting on a rooftop somewhere in between Fortress Maximus and the Primal Basilica. I've sent Cyclonus and Deadlock to go after him and keep him safe. We can't have our Prime getting hurt, can we, Lord Megatron?::_ Yes, Strika definitely sounded far too jolly for a battle that was lasting a lot longer than Megatron would have liked. Still, there was no denying they were wining. Shockwave reported that one fifth of the remaining fighting Autobots out at the Space Bridge outposts and the territory around it were also captured and around three hundred more mechs had not only left the Autobot side, but had _joined_ the Decepticon side. Mostly spacecraft technicians and medics. The soldiers were still trying to take the moral high ground or were terrified of what would happen to them if they defected and ended up on the losing side, since Autobot propaganda had taught them just how 'easily' the Decepticons lost the Great War in the face of Autobot supremacy. And they said _warbuilds_ had massive egos. At least _their's_ were _proportionate_. In more ways than one.

He was distracted from that train of thought as he saw Autobot vessels, what few remained on Cybertron and Luna 1 and 2 - mostly experimental ships or ones in great need of repair and maintenance - rise from the ground, some staying in Iacon, others hurtling upwards to help their commander. Megatron would have huffed, but the breath was taken from him as a strong laser blast from an energy gun hit him in the back and he whirled around to see Ultra Magnus was standing atop Steelhaven with an interesting expression on his faceplates. It was something between defiance and fury and determination and it made the Lord High Protector sneer. Especially when he got a ping from the Autobot Supreme Commander.

_::I may no longer have my Hammer, Megatron, but I do not need it to defeat you.::_

Megatron scowled and made his way over to the Steelhaven, avoiding more blasts from the blue and white Autobot before landing on the Steelhaven, drawing his twin swords. _::Bold words for such a coward, Magnus. Assaulting sparklings before they even onlined their optics . How noble. How upstanding. How very _Autobot_.::_ He switched frequencies as he swirled one sword and took up a fighting stance. _::Keep me posted, General. If Optimus so much as sneezes, I want to know.::_

_::Will do, my Lord.::_ A pause. _::What is 'sneeze'?::_

Megatron ignored her, focusing instead on his opponent, who was taking out an ax very similar to his Prime's own preferred weapon. Only Ultra's ax had blades on both ends and the handle was naturally longer, not stretchable like Optimus'. The choice of weapon probably had more to do with habit of holding a heavy, big weapon in both servos than any recent practice with anything but the Magnus Hammer. It's weight and general shape was similar enough.

_::This ends _here_, Megatron.::_

_::I agree, Magnus. At the end of this, one shall stand and one shall fall.::_ No sooner than those words were sent and received did both faction leaders charge at each other, meeting halfway, weapons clashing. Megatron attempted to stab Magnus with one of his swords, as he was more than perfectly able to hold off the big Autobot with only one servo, but Magnus had somehow managed to tie the gun to his forearm and had connected his circuits to it, allowing him to fire in Megatron's face. Megatron just barely dodged and snarled, using that free sword to deflect the next shot before putting more of his weight in their standoff, making the other grunt. When Magnus tried to change the trajectory of the gun's muzzle, Megatron pushed away and ducked, rearranging his swords in an X as the shorter mech charged at him. He had to give it to Magnus. For an outdated model, he had kept in shape. He wasn't sure if any Autobot would be able to produce such force in a single strike. Not without the help of gravity, which Magnus didn't have as they were still in orbit.

The gray warlord decided that if Ultra Magnus was playing dirty, then so could he, powering up his Fusion Cannon to 20% power. After all, he had promised Optimus that he won't offline this traitor of their people, no matter how tempting it may be. Magnus released something close to a yelp as the shot caught his shoulder and Megatron pushed the advantage, stabbing his swords into the Steelhaven's plating and grabbing the Magnus' ax, using it as a pole to leverage and throw the Autobot across the ship. He had hoped to throw him right off the Steelhaven so his soldiers could secure him in stasis cuffs and store him away somewhere, but it would seem that it was not meant to be, as Ultra used his weapon to catch himself somewhere in the middle of the ship, raising his gun and starting a volley of continuous fire at the Decepticon. Megatron took up one of his swords to deflect the blasts while returning fire with his own cannon, annoyed that this was taking so long.

Bellow them, in Iacon, Optimus gave another large burst of electricity, bringing down a huge Autobot ship that had tried to crowd Omega Supreme and two smaller Decepticon medical vessels.

_::Does it annoy you?::_ Megatron taunted with a smug smirk, even baring his dentae. _::That you have let such a promising mech go? That he can use the Hammer more easily than _you_? Do you regret brushing him off? I personally don't know whether I should thank you or slag you for chasing him away. You made finding him _much_ easier for me.::_

_::It is clear being a hero is not in his coding.::_

Megatron had to refrain from growling in outrage. _::Maybe, maybe not, but being a _leader_ is. That is what Cybertron _needs_. What good is a _hero_ in a time where there is no need for heroics? What good is a hero in times of peace?::_

Magnus just glared at him. _::You are more delusional than I had first thought if you truly believe what you're trying to do will bring about peace.::_ The word was all but spat out as Ultra Magnus apparently rerouted even more Energon into his gun and Megatron had to start spinning his sword in order to reflect the surprisingly strong blasts. They were almost on par with Starscream's Null Rays. _::What you will bring is nothing but chaos and unrest. Don't think me a fool, Megatron, just because you managed to convince a team of glitched repair bots that your intentions are _noble_. I know what you want. Optimus _Prime _is better off offline than facing that future.::_ The way he said it sent chills down Megatron's plating and made an uncomfortable feeling grip his spark. His processor, on the other hand, was being bombarded by protocols of his Protector coding, registering a low key threat against his Prime even where Megatron's own logic center was struggling to label it as such. _::So I will give him that mercy, even if the traitor doesn't deserve it.::_

He reached up with his gun-free hand to press at his comm link before Megatron could figure out what he meant, although the threat was now _very _clear and his _spark _urged him to _destroy _the threat to _his _Prime. Then his whole being sang in shared pain as a staggering explosion rocked Iacon and the residual shock wave reached up into space. All that he could feel, all that he could focus on, all that he was aware of was _pain_. Overwhelming, horrible pain that had his struts buckling and he caught himself on one knee before he could fall in a too vulnerable position which will end with him offlined. His processor was struggling to comprehend the pain, especially as panic started setting in.

Because he was fine. Ultra Magnus didn't have any sort of weaponry that could cause this much pain to him simply from tapping his comm unit. And it was too much of a coincidence for that pain to have come in the wake of the explosion in Iacon.

Iacon, where _Optimus_ was.

He reached out for his counterpart, only to be greeted with even more pain and the source of it was now so horrifically clear that Megatron nearly doubled over. His Prime was hurt. He was hurt enough that their link was overflowing with it and Megatron couldn't even access the usual health reports the link allowed him to keep of Optimus as his Lord High Protector. He was blind. He had no idea of Optimus' status beyond him being _online_ and that was also _in question of for how much longer_. Terror seized his spark as if it were gripped by a sparkeater and he desperately pinged Strika. If he didn't find out _something_ about his twin spark's condition, he was going to be driven _mad_. Thankfully, Strika answered only after a handful of kliks, which was enough of a relief because she had been down there, too. Was she compromised? What of her team? What about their troops!? What state was _Optimus_ in!?

_::We're fine, my Lord. It was just a nasty explosion. Cyclonus reported that the Prime is in one piece, despite being in the center of the explosion.::_ Fear and rage and relief all warred for his attention. How could Optimus have been in the _center_ of the explosion? Had someone gotten a lucky shot in? Had the Magnus put some sort of device on him that they hadn't noticed before? Was it standard Academy procedure to equip their bots with them? How had Optimus not known about it? If they did do that, why hadn't _Shockwave_ warned them about it?! What was going _on_?! _::The Magnus Hammer ... We lost it, my Lord. It was the cause of the explosion and the electrical discharge has apparently left the Prime immobile. I've sent Blackout and Terminus to help Cyclonus and Deadlock in protecting the Prime and his medic reports some techno-organic called Sari, I think, is going to be coming down to fix him. As far as Cyclonus can tell, at least his spark is stable and strong but he'll definitely need medical attention. Omega Supreme is ten kliks out.::_

Megatron almost vented in relief, but then a precise shot caught his servo and he released a sound of pain as his sword flew right out of his servo, flying through space so hard, spinning all the while and creating more momentum, before it entered the gravity pull of Cybertron and started falling towards the planet. A curious and morbid part of Megatron's processor wondered if it will skewer someone down on the planet and hoped it wasn't one of his soldiers. That would be just plain bad luck. He looked up at his opponent and was met with the sight of a charging gun leveled at his head, just a few pedesteps away.

_::You are not a howling, sparking mess on the floor, so I would guess that the sacrifice of my Hammer wasn't quite enough to deal with that traitor.::_

Megatron snarled, enraged by the oh so casual way Ultra Magnus was referring to an event that had plunged their species into a millions of stellar cycles worth of war and wasted sparks when the council had put Megazarak in stasis cuffs and snuffed Nova Prime's spark in front of the Lord High Protector's optics. It had defined their planet in the most frightening of ways and Megatron _despised_ these petty creatures who had so lusted after power that they were willing to eradicate an entire half of their species.

_::Perhaps it is not too late for him after all. If I offline you here, he can be taught, like Nominus has been taught before him. Like Zeta and like Sentinel. And you haven't even bonded yet. How very convenient for the Council. He won't be tainted by your unworthy spark.::_ Magnus paused, seeming to think about it before a smirking gleam entered his optics even as his faceplate remained impassive. If at all possible, it made Megatron's systems spew out even _more_ warnings. _::Or perhaps it could work the other way around, too. All that I'd have to do is put you in stasis and order someone to execute Optimus Prime down in Iacon. You are not sparkbonded and you have lived your entire function without him, unlike Megazarak with Nova. He was a failed experiment, but you might be a success. Cybertron would greatly benefit from a Lord High Protector working in harmony with the Council.::_

The warlord growled like a caged beast, not sure which future disturbed him more, but he would rather destroy all of Cybertron than let Optimus fall into the Council's clutches. _::Over my offlined chassis.::_

_::That,::_ Ultra Magnus sent as he readied the gun. _::Can be aranged.::_

_::Oh, please.::_ Megatron grumbled in irritation and took Magnus off guard when he fired his Fusion Cannon at him, hitting him square in the chest, but Megatron hadn't had the time to properly charge it, as it would have made his intent quite obvious. So the most the shot did was making Magnus stumble a few steps back, which was perfectly enough for Megatron to surge to his pedes and lunge for his remaining sword. He hoped the other one had survived entering the atmosphere and falling. Sure, as a warframe, his weapons were as much a part of him as his optics were and as such, all he needed was some additional nanites and time for his frame to make new ones, but he had had these swords from his days as a gladiator. He'd prefer to keep them, if at all possible. Besides, they were quite soaked in enemy Energon by now and if his and Optimus' coup of the Council works, he probably won't ever get a chance to use it again. As nice as that thought was, it means he'd have one well used and one unused sword. They would be the same to anyone else but Megatron would always be able to tell them apart, which will be _annoying_. Although it might be good for the symbolics of peace ... Hm, that was Energon for thought. _::Cowards like you haven't managed to offline me as a helpless, barely awake sparkling. What makes you think _you'll_ manage?::_

_::The old ways are obsolete. You aren't _needed_ anymore, Lord High Protector. A Prime, maybe, but only as the religious figurehead of our people. Autobots have already proven their military might and that we don't need warframes anymore. Either take your people and leave once and for all or be destroyed.::_

_::I think my people beg to differ. Yours do, too, only you don't _listen_.::_ They were both on their pedes again, sword and ax clutched in their servos respectively, red and blue optics glaring at each other. And then the plating under Ultra Magnus pedes opened and he fell through just as the Steelhaven's charged cannon swung around and zeroed in on the Decepticon standing on its roof. The cannon was already at the end of the firing sequence and with the size of the energy blast a war ship produces, Megatron won't have a chance to get out of the way in time to save his spark.

_::I don't think your opinion matters anymore. I pray to Primus that he will accept you in the Well of the AllSpark. And don't worry. I'll take good care of Optimus _Prime_.::_ The smugness of the transmission was almost enough to make his rage outweigh his regret at leaving Optimus so soon after finding him. But not even he can survive a blast from a war ship from this close up.

He refused to offline his optics and instead faced his doom head on. _::I am so sorry, my little spark. I will wait for you in the Well. Free our people. I leave my Decepticons to you.::_

The cannon fired.

The world turned white.


	13. Chapter 13

**The Lost Prime**

**Summary: Primes and their Lord High Protectors are made as twins, their sparks coming online together far from other Cybertronian life, protecting one another until the Herald of Primus comes for them. However, the Council can't allow that and the newest Prime goes missing, his Lord Protector tearing Cybertron apart to find him. Every war has its reason. This one is just coming to light. TFA AU**

The pain had been instant and paralyzing and so _strong_ that Optimus had been knocked into stasis for a good five breems. He only onlined his optics when he felt the AllSpark's blessed power surging through his frame, trying to repair the damage his systems had taken in the electric discharge and his plating from where the explosion had done a good job on him. He was just barely aware of feeling several Decepticon spark signatures close by as well as Prowl's reassuring EM field brushing his as Sari did her best. Slowly, more and more of his systems came back online and the feeling returned to his body. Thankfully, it wasn't just pain anymore. He would have probably gone back into stasis if it was just pain again.

It took a while to get him back on his pedes. Sari had had to use seven different ports for her to fix him enough just to sit up, several times, and several times more to get his stabilizer servos under him. It had hurt to move at first, but his battle protocols allowed him to numb the pain when he saw just how many Autobot soldiers had surrounded their little group. Thanks to his obsession with history datapads, Optimus was able to recognize several of the Decepticons protecting him. There was the horned Cyclonus, the infamous cyberninja Deadlock, the huge Blackout and the not quite so famous but still very deadly Terminus. There was a seeker and a grounder Optimus wasn't sure if he had identified correctly as Oilslick. They were all formidable warriors, had survived millions of years of battle, in the Gladiatorial Pits and in the Great War, but even they couldn't take out the number of Autobots shooting and coming at them as well as the two smaller war ships that Omega couldn't engage as he was dealing with bigger war ships that threatened the Decepticons protecting the Nexus. And all the Decepticons coming through the Space Bridges were quickly being redistributed across the planet or to the two moon bases they had on Luna 1 and 2. The fight was still very much ongoing.

Optimus forced himself to his pedes and looked around, searching for the Hammer. It lay in several pieces a few pedesteps away, still crackling with energy. It would seem the Magnus had some sort of remote self-destruct command that he could activate should the Hammer ever fall into enemy hands that were capable of using it. It made Optimus even more suspicious about the Lord High Protector's ability to use it. The Hammer was scrap now, once a powerful weapon that had sent fear into every being whose body could conduct electricity. Ultra Magnus had destroyed his symbol of office in an attempt to kill the Prime that was going to overthrow him. But Optimus had survived. There was some sort of irony there. And great symbolism for the revolution. The Prime could survive whatever the Magnus threw at him. Had their movement been anything like the Council controlled Elite Guard, they would have used it for propaganda purposes. It would have been priceless.

The red and blue bot looked away and instead reached into his subspace, taking out his battle ax and activating it. Prowl picked up Sari and said something to him, but Optimus only registered worry and relief. His systems were still rebooting some of the less crucial subprograms. But his battle protocols were primed to the maximum and he lunged at the mech trying to sneak up on his friends, knocking the bot out just from flooring him. He registered Prowl and Sari saying something, but he was already engaging the next bot that came at him, falling into that unthinking state that Megatron had encouraged in their training. Well, not really _unthinking_,ore like not over-thinking stuff. It was act and think and act again sort of routine that was best used for battle, reacting to an incoming blow, finding a possible weak spot, an opening and then attacking it as swiftly as possible. He didn't really have the _time_ to over-think his actions.

He was aware of throwing stars whizzing past them, meaning Prowl had probably stashed Sari somewhere relatively safe and had joined in the fight, having Optimus' back. The Prime was still a bit beyond speaking, but his audials were coming back online. It wasn't just the haze of battle now rattling his processor and taking up all the space. He was becoming aware of the Decepticons talking to each other, formations, curses, teasing jabs, insults at the Autobots. He knew Prowl had reverted to his fighting mode, meaning he was mostly silent and will speak only if spoken to or if he has some important information to share. He became aware of the comm pings he was picking up but refrained from opening them until he had his language matrix back online. It wouldn't do to open a comm link and greet the other side with nothing but silence and he _refused_ to resort to binary beeps and whistles. It would have been useless, anyway. Usually only Minicons used binary anymore.

When he was confident he would be able to form whole sentences, Optimus opened a link and immediately regretted it. He had chosen to open the most urgent link and that just happened to be the one he shared with Ratchet, Shockwave, Starscream and General Strika, with whom he'd only briefly spoken when he used the Magnus Hammer to fry Fortress Maximus. They had been all demanding his attention and now they were all speaking over one each other, making his helm ache. It was just distracting enough that he noticed a lumbering Autobot too late and the big mech pinned him to the ground, making his helm hit the roof of the building they were fighting on and making him lose his grip on his ax. The Autobot was larger than Bulkhead, an Autobot imitation of warframe frontliners, and was quite a bit stronger and heavier than the Prime, keeping him effectively pinned down. Optimus tried struggling, tried reaching for his ax but a bot fighting Prowl managed to kick it out of reach as they passed by, the cyberninja too preoccupied with his own fight for him to see that Optimus was left weaponless under a much bigger mech.

The mech used this to his advantage, putting a big, four-digit servo around the Prime's silver neck cables and he started squeezing. Optimus' vents sputtered at the sudden lack of cool air to cool his frame in the midst of battle and the firetruck's servos immediately wrapped around the one trying to break his neck components. His frame was getting hotter and hotter by the second and if he didn't free his air tubing, he will overheat and fall into stasis, leaving him vulnerable in the middle of a battlefield. His allies were all busy fighting their own opponents to notice that the Prime was down and was slowly starting to spasm as his frame reached dangerous temperatures. If the other didn't take his helm off his shoulders, he will overheat to offlining. And he couldn't allow that. He couldn't let Megstron go through what Megazarak had went through. Not when they were finally so close. They were on Cybertron. They were _home_. A not so small part of the population was _welcoming _them with open servos, sick of the Council's rule. He couldn't leave Megatron to rebuild their society on his own with a processor slowly being driven mad by his strained and grieving from the lack of his spark twin. They still had so much to do. _Optimus_ still had so much he wanted to do. He didn't want to offline yet. He wanted to help build a better Cybertron.

But his vision was already flickering with static as the heat started reaching critical levels and he couldn't stop the regret from forming in his spark. He did his best to keep the link between him and Megatron closed so the other won't feel him as he flickers out, denying himself that one last comfort and apologizing to Primus for failing him-

A sharp, pained cry jerked him out of his numbing state, the servo around his cubing gave one last violent squeeze before it went slack and the weight holding him down turned gunmetal gray, tumbling down until it was lying half over him. The slackened servo could no longer block his airflow quite so efficiently and cool atmosphere entered his ventilation systems, his cooling fans roaring to life as they struggled to regulate his frame's temperature. As soon as his vision stopped flickering, Optimus gathered his strength and pushed the big Autobot off of his body, rolling out from under him, turning to see what had offlined his assaliant. A familiar black hilted sword with a ruby crystal in the middle of the guard greeted his optics and the puzzled Prime looked around for his owner, not finding his Lord Protector anywhere within sight or sensors distance. He did, however, spot another mech coming towards him with the obvious intent to finish the offlined Autobot's mission and Optimus scrambled to his pedes, looking around for his ax. He stared at it for a few kliks when he found it lying amongst the crackling remains of the Magnus Hammer three mechanometers away and decided to forgo it as it was too far away to reach it before the Autobot reached him and his backstruts would be turned and open for an attack.

So he turned back to the gray sword buried in the cooling frame of the downed Autobot and yanked it out with barely any struggle at all, it was that sharp. Megatron had to have had kept it well over the stellar cycles. As it was Megatron's, it was perfect for his larger counterpart and the Decepticon had no problem wielding it with only one servo. Optimus, on the other hand, found that the sword reached up to his lip plates and was far too heavy for him to hold it up in one hand, so he changed his stance from the one he had seen Megatron using to the one Terminus, with his gigantic, wide broadsword, was using. Good thing they taught bots to use all kinds of weapons in the Academy before letting them chose their preferred weapon and good thing Optimus had always been so good in all of his classes and a quick study, because fighting with a sword was _much_ different than fighting with an ax. He fell into as sure as stance as his lack of recent training with a sword allowed and met the blow from the Autobot when it came. His new opponent was half a helm taller than him and also wielded a bladed weapon, or rather two. He was using two Energon sabers that focused on attacking Optimus' sides rather than his front, which prevented Optimus himself from attacking as he had to shift constantly to avoid getting damaged.

The beauty of a long sword was that it was both a sword and a shield, attack and defense. Well, if used correctly. It covered far more vulnerable spots than a smaller, shorter blade would. It offered a bit more protection while providing a further reach. Megatron's sword was wicked sharp and rather easy to get used to. It took Optimus a few breems but he was soon enough fighting with it as though it were his ax, meeting the Autobot's sword bow for blow. They were evenly matched in strength but not quite so in skill. Even though Optimus hadn't used a sword to fight in over fifteen hundred stellar cycles, he'd recently fought and trained with Decepticons and was used to bigger, stronger and far more experienced opponents than himself. Soon enough, his new earned experience showed and he disarmed his opponent first of one sword, then the other and then he knocked him on his aft, swiftly moved in and hit his helm with the butt of the handle. The Autobot crumbled like a sack of potatoes but was soon replaced by another opponent, this one shorter than Optimus by two helms but a part of the Elite Guard with a preference for short swords.

Having to protect his space in order to stop the bot from getting a clear shot at him was hard. The mech was smaller, had smaller weapons and more freedom of movement than Optimus with Megatron's large sword. Despite his best efforts, Optimus got a few dents and cuts and some places leaked Energon. In the end, having a longer reach is what saved Optimus. He had somehow managed to trip the smaller civlianframe down and had kicked away his weapons. When the Elite Guard mech tried to shoot him, Optimus blocked the shots with his counterpart's swords as he had seen Megatron do a few times, advancing on the bot until he gave off and transformed. Optimus watched him driving away for only a few kliks before he released a pained grunt as he was slammed into by a mech of a similar alt mode to the one he had had before Earth.

He rolled a few times, not daring to lose Megatron's sword and be left defenseless, before he came to a stop. He looked up when he heard charging pedesteps and stabbed Megatron's sword into the ground to heave himself up, only he hadn't realized where he had landed. Or where the the tip of the blade was stabbing.

The sharp tip of the big, gray sword stabbed right into a piece of the destroyed Magnus Hammer, still cackling with trapped energy, and the equally sharp edge of the blade scratched Optimus' ion ax, causing a very unexpected reaction. Namely, the entirety of Iacon was blinded by an unexpected white light the likes of which none of them had ever seen before. Optimus had to shield his optics but he heard the bot charging at him trip over something and slam into the ground a few pedesteps in front of him, obviously just as blinded. And then a wave of energy knocked everyone off of their pedes and right on their afts, the energy surge so powerful it reached the orbit and the ships fighting there buckled, being pushed further away from Cybertron's atmosphere. The all too familiar sound of a transformation sequence reached his audials but it was still impossible to see. Optimus wondered just what the hell was transforming when, suddenly, it all stopped. Just a few seconds after the transformation sequence stopped and the last sounds depicting it faded away into the silent stillness that had befallen the battlefield, the light died away, too, allowing Optimus to uncover his optics.

He had to reset them a few times as he realized that the hilt he was holding was vastly different from the one he had been gripping before the light blinded them all. For one, it had a more pronounced pommel and it, along with the guard, was no longer that dark gray, almost black it had been just seconds earlier. It was now red and blue to match his own plating, a familiar red and blue ... Red like his _ax _and blue like the _Magnus Hammer_, both of which were nowhere to be seen at his pedes, unlike before. The hilt was still black, though, so he could recognize it as Megatron's sword's hilt, only the texture under his servo was slightly different. It made the hilt easier for a bot his size to handle. The guard was wider on either side of the hilt and from it started a much broader blade, the center of which was the same color as Megatron's sword had been, but the metal around it was that of his ax. Optimus would know. That ax had been like a part of his servo since he started training with it. It was a two-edged sword with a fuller in the middle and it was magnificent. It's edges were glowing like his ax would when engaged and yet there were small sparks of electrical charge, probably coming from the Magnus Hammer. The Prime decided not to question how the three so completely different weapons integrated to seamlessly, too entranced by the ancient glyphs running along his new weapon's flats. It had remained the same length and weight despite it being bigger and it was a work of art worthy of Solus Prime and her Forge.

The Autobots stared.

The Decepticosn stared.

Optimus was pretty sure Sari and Prowl were staring, too.

Probably the rest of his team was, too, up on Omega Supreme.

He himself was staring.

Someone released a loud battle cry that echoed in the silent battlefield and lunged at the distracted Prime and the sword split apart, an electrical charge surging from it, into Cybertron's metal plating, traveling visibly and yet almost faster than any of their processors could comprehend it and assaulting the attacker before he was even ten mechanometers away from the Prime. The attacker, an Elite Guard bot of a similar build as Sentinel, convulsed and collapsed, his frame twitching and smoking as sparks flew all over the place, out cold. In very deep stasis. He was undamaged. He will not be coming online without a medic starting the process manually.

Optimus looked down at the new, strange weapon humming merrily in his servo.

The Autobots twitched.

He looked back up.

The Autobots all shuffled a few steps back.

The Prime looked upwards, where the battle was still taking place. His spark still echoed from regret not his own that he had not registered when the sword had started forming from Megatron's sword, his ax and the Magnus Hammer. It may be gone now, replaced by worry and curiosity and confusion, but he had felt it. Megatron had needed help.

His grip tightened.

The Autobots' EM fields went wild with panic and fear.

The Decepticons watched with something akin to awe and reverence.

Optimus stood up and hefted his new sword, the glyphs of the ancient Primes coming to light, its wicked sharp edge and tip glinting in Haden's light. The sword crackled with power that far surpassed the power of the Magnus Hammer.

He turned.

He adjusted his grip.

The Autobots broke line and fled.


	14. Chapter 14

**The Lost Prime**

**Summary: Primes and their Lord High Protectors are made as twins, their sparks coming online together far from other Cybertronian life, protecting one another until the Herald of Primus comes for them. However, the Council can't allow that and the newest Prime goes missing, his Lord Protector tearing Cybertron apart to find him. Every war has its reason. This one is just coming to light. TFA AU**

The blinding light had afforded Megatron a chance to move out of the way when Magnus squeezed the trigger on instinct and fired. The buckle of the ship due to the shock wave of power helped to further disturb the white and blue mech's aim. Megatron scrambled - something he will not ever admit to, not even at the price of offlining - in the blinding light to a safe position and picked himself up, shielding his optics from the onslaught of too bright light until it was over and then he took aim, charged his Fusion Cannon and fired. He hit Magnus in the hip joint and the other bot collapsed with a pained cry but rolled to the side and aimed for Megatron's knee, firing and doing considerable damage, making the warlord grunt as he slammed back to plating of the Steelhaven on one knee.

They both took aim and would have fired again had an electrical surge from the planet not offlined their weapons for the barest of moments and the Steelhaven itself stopped moving, having lost all power. The two warriors stared down at their malfunctioning weapons and looked around, realizing they weren't the only ones experiencing this strange event with perfectly working and operational weaponry. To his further confusion, Megatron found he could easily reactivate his cannon after a few seconds, but Ultra's pistol remained ineffective. Megatron decided not to 'look a gift horse in the mouth,' as the Earth idiom goes and just aimed at Magnus with his cannon until he knocked the other mech flat down on the plating. He got back up to his pedes with a struggle and took out a pair of stasis cuffs.

And just like that, the fight was so suddenly over.

_::Lord Megatron? Can you hear me, master? Please respond.::_ Came Shockwave's hail a few kliks later, drawing Megatron's attention away from where his troops were now entering Autobot ships and putting the bots there in stasis. He had never had a battle end so suddenly. He did not know what to think of it.

_::I hear you, Shockwave. I am here. Report.::_ It was best to focus on things that are familiar until he could figure out just what the frag had happened here. The way Cybertron continued shinning almost made him think of the light in one's optics when they know something you don't but he brushed that thought off. Maybe his CPU got zapped in that strange surge of electricity. He would never usually contemplate such nonsense.

There was a twinge of relief intertwined in the professionally stoic glyphs when his loyal Lieutenant responded. _::No major casualties on either side, my Lord. Five civilians offlined, seventeen are critical but getting the needed medical attention, twenty four more have lost a limb. Fifteen are currently in stasis and medics say they'll need a few megacycles to wake up. Forty three have received minor injury but were in need to be held back by a medic. Seventy six others received minor injuries but were released from medical care. The rest are scratches and dents. As for our own troops, we have lost only one soldier so far, two are in critical condition, seven have lost a limb and fifteen were held back by the medics. The rest were all let off with minor injuries that mostly consisted of dents and scratches. The fighting has ended on Cybertron at large, but some of the outposts are still fighting. The Autobots have issued on order to retreat ... ::_

Megatron arched an optic ridge when Shockwave trailed off. That, too, had never happened, at least not as long as Megatron knew him. Perhaps it was because of the comment about a planet-wide cessation of hostilities as if someone turned off a switch? He thought back to that strange light and the energy wave and couldn't help but feel it might be connected. _::What happened down there, Shockwave?::_

The mech hesitated before saying one word that had Megatron's backstruts stiffening. _::Prime ... ::_ That awful, dreadful hesitation again. Megatron hated it. It had his battle protocols on edge. Or maybe that was because of the abrupt end of the fight? He didn't like it either way. _::He ... He _did_ something, my liege. We don't know just _what_ yet. One moment, he was fighting, the next he had this new sword and the Autobots were running the other way. And then he did something with it and that strange energy field burst out and all weapons ceased functioning. Decepticons could get our back online but all ships and guns are totally fried to slag.::_ The warlord was glad no one was around to see his intake going a bit agape at that. Shockwave must be quite frustrated with everything to do something as unprofessional and expressive as cursing, even though slag wasn't that big of a cuss word. It was still a greater loss of composure than Megatron had seen in his spy for the last two million stellar cycles. It said quite a bit about the situation.

_::Where is he now?::_ He decided to stick with the important things. The fighting was over but that didn't mean Optimus was any less in danger. If anything, planet-side, Optimus was even more in danger. Until Megatron can deliver him to the Primal Basilica and Alpha Trion for him to receive the Matrix of Leadership, Optimus was the most threatened. This is the Council's last chance at killing the new Prime before he can come into power. Optimus was dangerous to their rule. The civilians won't accept a lone Protector. Maybe even his Decepticons will hesitate to follow him if anything were to happen to his Prime. After all, the last grieving Lord High Protector had led them straight into war. Once burned, twice shy and all. Megatron wouldn't trust _himself_ to lead a _parade_ if he were to lose Optimus. Despite what Ultra Magnus theorized, losing his Prime might have a far worse effect on him than it had on Megazarak. Megatron's head had been filled with nothing but thoughts of his counterpart for millions of stellar cycles. Losing him might break him more irreparably than it ever had his predecessor.

He had searched his whole life for his little one.

Losing Optimus Prime now would be fatal to him.

_::He is with his Space Bridge repair crew, overseeing the medics work in silence. From what I've heard about them and seen on my own undercover on Cybertron, I'm surprised no one is asking any questions.::_ He was probably for once annoyed with it, too, as it would have been a great source of information without Shockwave even getting involved. _::Though, that might be in effect because of his team's medic. He is quite a grumpy one. And seems to know General Strika from some past battlefield. They're catching up. Lord Prime seems to be listening with rapid interest. I guess that's to be expected. His files say he was rather interested in history.::_ A pause. _::When will you be arriving, Lord Megatron?::_

He looked down at his damaged leg and hailed Lugnut. His subordinate was annoying, at time unbearably so, but had thrusters strong enough to get them both down to Cybertron safely. He hated he couldn't do it himself, but it was probably safest for him not to let charge run through his stabilizing struts down to his thrusters due to the very likely and very dangerous possibility of that charge overloading something and blowing up his leg. Transforming was also out of the question, as Magnus had hit him square in the transformation seams. He'd only cause himself more damage. He turned back to Shockwave as soon as Lugnut acknowledged his hail and cut off the comm link before the mech could start one of his odes to Megatron's greatness. It had once been an ego boost. Now, it was more than annoying and rarely failed to cause his optics to twitch.

_::I should be arriving in approximately seven breems. Keep me posted, Shockwave, and keep a careful eye on my Prime. The battle may be over, but the war is not.::_

_::Acknowledged, my liege. We await your arrival.::_ Was Shockwave's last humble response before they closed the comm link just as Lugnut arrived, no worse off than before the battle. Blitzwing was inside the Steelhaven, commandeering it and tying up the bot previously firing on them and will later come up for the Magnus to further secure him, too. Megatron activated his one 100% safe thruster and leaned on Lugnut as they together started descending towards Cybertron. He had completely muted his audial receptors in order to save himself from Lugnut's odes, priming his other detection systems, and reached across the link he shared with Optimus for his counterpart.

The Prime answered almost immediately, relief and happiness and concern almost flooding from the other end and smothering Megatron with its intensity. It would seem he had greatly worried his little one.

_Be at ease, Optimus, I am relatively unharmed. Nothing a brief visit to a medic won't fix._ There was some displeasure from Optimus at his obvious need to see a medic at all and Megatron sent a wave of amusement at his co-ruler-to-be. _And you yourself?_

_::I'm fine.::_ The Decepticon leader didn't hesitate to send his skepticism across the bond, flustering Optimus a little. _::No, really, I'm fine. The Magnus Hammer shocked me quite hard but Sari took care of it with her Key and any damage I received from then has also already been taken care of in much the same manner. I don't have any damage now.::_

_If you are sure,_ he replied begrudgingly and was surprised at the feeling of fondness that got him in return. He guessed that was good. It was more than good. Fondness he can work with. _I will be arriving shortly, if Ms Sumdac would be so kind to treat me with the AllSpark Key as well._

_::I'll tell her to expect you. You won't even have to wait in line. The organic xenophobia seems to run deeper than I thought and even after seeing what it can do, Autobots would rather offline than receive her help.::_

Megatron scowled. _Fools_. Optimus didn't disagree or rebut him. His side of their connection reeked of sorrow and Megatron softened, wishing he was there to physically comfort his Prime instead of just sending the feeling of it across their link. _It is their choice, Optimus. An idiotic one, but their own. You cannot save those who don't want to be saved._

_::Maybe.::_ Maybe, but the young mech still obviously wished that he could have helped them. Megatron's spark purred in content. He had such a kind Prime. He was sure no Prime had been as sweet as his Optimus was and if anyone says he's biased, they can go frag themselves. _::When will you be here?::_

Megatron checked, doing a bit of calculating before replying. _In a couple of breems. Where are you? Send me your exact location._ He got a datapacket a klik later And he arched an eyebrow. How convenient. Optimus was literally down the street from the Primal Basilica. That couldn't have been a coincidence. He informed Optimus he will see him soon and their link fell quiet, even though it was open as they can get it in order to feel each other. They'd both detected distress and other unpleasant emotions in the other during battle and were in need of keeping close even when they were physically separated. Megatron couldn't wait for them to bond and the ability to feel each other became stronger and clearer.

He grunted when he and Lugnut landed and it jostled his bad knee joint, the lumbering mech apologizing immediately and offering to take some of his weight, an offer Megatron refused. He couldn't afford to seem weak now in front of both his mechs and all those Elite Guard and civilians. Besides, it would only worry Optimus more, as if he probably wasn't already fretting from the feedback of the injury alone. He had to keep up appearances. This close to his Prime, his spark was able to lead him through the gathered bots with ease and soon he saw Optimus, leaning against a big, strange sword that looked as though it was built for him but seemed very familiar, watching Ratchet as he worked and squabbled with some Autobot trooper that was hurtling abuse at the bots from Earth about being traitors or something. None of them seemed fazed by what he was saying, though that might be because they kept throwing glances or staring at the new sword Optimus had acquired. It must be the one Shockwave had mentioned. It was certainly unlike any sword Megatron had seen before in his function.

It's mysterious origin unsettled him.

Optimus perked up, probably at is proximity, looked up and saw him, his whole face brightening in happiness and relief. He straightened. stabbed the sword into the ground and all but leaped towards Megatron, who grunted as he caught the small mech, even that little added weight putting quite a bit of strain on his injured knee. Still, to have his Prime so happily in his servos was more than worth it. His spark settled at the proximity of it's twin, practically cooing and purring at the younger one it was meant to protect. The Lord High Protector had to stop himself from physically purring as well, lest he embarrass them both unnecessarily.

"I'm happy to see you, too, little one."

"Prime!" Before Optimus could say anything, Ratchet had snapped and was there in seconds, glaring at the Decepticon. "Get down before his knee strut collapses. The glitch shouldn't even be walking, let alone lifting things!"

Blue eyes focus in on his knee and Megatron hated the guilt that immediately festered in them, glaring at the medic but letting Optimus jump down either way. It didn't do to annoy a medic that was going to take a look at you and possibly rummage through your internal circuitry. Hook was still fighting with his gestalt brothers at one of the Space Bridge outposts so he won't be here anytime soon and his knee really needed to be looked at. Ratchet was more than a qualified medic. He didn't protest as the ambulance guided him over to one of the made-up seats and started scanning his knee before taking out his tools and beginning with the repairs. He held in his initial wince and was grateful his systems shut down the neural net in his pede right after as to not overwhelm his systems with pain.

Optimus was hovering around anxiously, watching the repairs, servos twitching with the need to do something but unsure what. Megatron figured he might as well get some things answered. "I have been told that our swift victory is your doing." He arched an eyebrow when Optimus twitched and his faceplates started radiating some heat. "And that you acquired a new weapon. Care to explain these claims, my Prime?"

Optimus stammered for a moment before looking away, towards the sword. "It's ... Kind of your sword?" Megatron lurched in surprise, causing Ratchet to start cursing him as he burned Megatron's plating with a welder. The Lord High Protector flinched in pain but didn't take away his wide-opticed stare away from Optimus, who was squirming under his gaze. "And the remains of the Magnus Hammer. And my ax." Now they were all staring at him and he looked even more uncomfortable. Not that Megatron blamed them for being incredulous. He himself was well _beyond_ incredulous. It wasn't even funny. "I kind of accidentally stabbed my ax and the Hammer with your sword - by the way, _what_ did you _do_ for it to have ended up down _here_ when you were up _there_? - in the battle at some point and there was a big light and then it was like this. I tried separating them but it's stuck like that. I don't think it can return to three separate weapons anymore." He looked back to Megatron, sheepish and highly apologetic. "Sorry."

Megatron gave the sword in question a flat look. It was simply gleaming in mischief - he didn't care how unreasonable that nonsense was, he _knew_ it was mocking him and it was enjoying it. "I guess my systems _will_ need to produce another sword." Optimus looked somewhere between intrigued and further apologetic, gazing at him in open curiosity. "Which means I'll need to intake some of those _disgusting_ implements in my fuel from now on to speed up the process." And his Prime was now giving him a sympathetic look. "It also means I will have to contend with only one sword for the time being. How inconvenient."

"Sorry," Optimus said again, sending a guilty look towards his new weapon. It was a very beautiful weapon, Megatron can't deny that. It was indeed worthy of a Prime.

"What happened after? How did the fight end so suddenly?" He had to cover that first before they can further investigate the sword. "Shockwave said it had something to do with your new sword."

"Yes."

"How does a mere _sword_ render two entire armies unable to fight from the ground?" Because that was the question, wasn't it? How did such a weapon exist? Why did it come to them only now? The three weapons that had combined to make it had been together for about a week. Whatever had triggered them to suddenly decide they were a gestalt team and combine should have happened before this point.

"Um, an Autobot was charging at me, I leaned on your sword but accidentally stabbed my ax and the Magnus Hammer and it was reformed when the light show died down. Then another Autobot tried to attack me and the sword ... kind of reacted?"

"Oh, it reacted alright!" Sari, who was currently in an air bubble Ratchet had made for her with the help of the the AllSpark Key reformatting a forcefield generator and an atmosphere stabilizing device. She was now wearing two machines the size of a human ... cellphone strapped to her hips on a belt and were generating for her a safe atmosphere to breathe since they didn't know for sure how much of her was Cybertronian and how much was human so they didn't want to risk it. Cybertron's atmosphere isn't exactly kind to organic organisms. "It lit up like a Christmas tree and then zapped that guy like no one's business! Like it was a sword version of Pikachu!"

_What's a ... pick-a-chew?_

_::I have no idea but I think it's an Earth pop culture thing.::_

Humans are so strange. "So it retains some of the Magnus Hammer's powers. That's interesting."

"And it's as sharp as your sword or my ax."

"And it reacts to anything that might put you in harm's way. How very interesting." He gave a tired exvent and rubbed at his nasal bridge. "Well, at least my sword - a part of me - will always be at hand to protect you, even when I myself am not. Your safety is worth the loss of a good, treasured sword. I can always get another one."

"How uncharacteristically optimistic and positive, coming from a warframe." A new, aged, ancient sounding voice said from somewhere behind him and Optimus' helm snapped up while Megatron did his best to whirl around to face the newcomer to gauge his threat level, only to relax upon seeing a vaguely familiar red, silver and gray mech with strange facial detailings that looked like a mustache, a crested forehelm and a cape adorning his shoulderstruts.

The Decepticons all gasped and Megatron had the distinct urge to bow his helm, even though the rare few times he had conversed with the old mech in the past, Alpha Trion had insisted there was no such need, not form the Lord High Protector.

The Herald smiled now, at the returned, reunited ruling pair and bowed his helm towards the startled Prime. "Optimus Prime, it is an honor to welcome you home. Come with me, young mech," the ancient bot beckoned. "The Matrix awaits and it has grown impatient."

Optimus was visibly torn between staying and going, shooting an uncertain look towards his counterpart, but Megatron only urged him forward. "This is what must be done and the sooner the better, Optimus. I will still be here when you return. Go," he caressed the blue servo so close to him as he reached for it and then let it go. "This is your destiny." And so Optimus turned and went, accepting Alpha Trion's guiding hand. It took everything Megatorn had not to jump to follow after them.

He didn't bother trying to keep his optics away as he watched his Prime walk away.


	15. Chapter 15

**The Lost Prime**

**Summary: Primes and their Lord High Protectors are made as twins, their sparks coming online together far from other Cybertronian life, protecting one another until the Herald of Primus comes for them. However, the Council can't allow that and the newest Prime goes missing, his Lord Protector tearing Cybertron apart to find him. Every war has its reason. This one is just coming to light. TFA AU**

The short walk to the Primal Basilica was silent save for Alpha Trion telling him to "Pick up the Hunter, lest anyone be tempted to try and take it away and meet their maker before their time is right," which he had realized was aimed at his new sword, and Optimus had had to resist the urge to exvent in relief when they finally reached the sacred building. Every mech in Iacon had been staring at them the whole time and it was rather unnerving. He was extremely glad to be away from that scrutiny right now.

His vents, however, hitched on his sigh when he saw the inside of the Primal Basilica for the first time in his function. He had never been in here, despite how close it was to both the Hall of Records, Fortress Maximus and the Autobot Academy. He had seen pictures, of course, but pictures did this place no justice. It was only slightly taller than Fortress Maximus was, already a feat in on itself, especially as it wasn't a residence building, with thirteen domes, held up by gigantic thirteen pillars, each one depicting a picture of a prime done in a breathtaking combination of a crystal mural and carved metal. There were cyber-glass windows high in the domes, lighting up the place in a rainbow of colors. The floor was done in various metals to make up a picture of Primus with open arms and a big platform where his spark would be, supporting the central pillar of the biggest dome. If Optimus remembered right, the Prime on that pillar was the Thirteenth. There had been numerous papers and debates about whether it was really indeed the Thirteenth Prime or Prima. Sentinel and Elita had teased him a great deal for choosing to read them all instead of hanging out with them on some party.

That pillar was the very center of the building, where Primes like Optimus supposedly was had once a vorn bared their spark, and the Matrix of Leadership beside it, to the gathered people. The Prime on that pillar was even shown in the process of opening his spark chamber for all to see. The texts regarding the Primal Basilica said that during such a ceremony, the sacred building came to life, liquid Energon running through the walls and pillars and lighting up all the pictures on the walls that showed the Primes in their battle against the Unmaker and up in the domes, where the birth of each Prime was shown. The building was truly a masterpiece, said to have been made by the Thirteen Primes themselves. Needless to say, it always left mechs in awe and made one think seriously about the sanctity of Primes because _sixteen billion stellar cycles later_, no one has managed to erect a building that's even _close_ to competing with the Basilica.

"I assume you know why we are here," Alpha Trion spoke, breaking Optimus out of his thoughts and making him focus on the Head Archivist.

"The Matrix of Leadership has been stored here since Nova Prime's offlining." Optimus had decided to reply if only to prevent another oppressive silence to fall between them again. That and this was probably his last chance to get some answers before he was going to find out if Megatron was right that he was a Prime or not.

"Indeed. Here, in this very building, Optimus Prime, every single one of your predecessors, your _ancestors_ have come into power. The last time the doors to this building were open was on the day of Nova's assassination." At the young mech's startled look, Alpha Trion smiled sadly. "Yes, it happened here. When Nova was in the middle of bearing his spark in prayer to Primus and the Thirteen - a ceremony that invites only the Prime, his Lord High protector and twelve acolytes to bear witness - when ten of the acolytes jumped on Megazarak and tried to put stasis cuffs on him, the other two went for Nova, who was at his most vulnerable. One held him in place while the other pried the Matrix out of his spark chamber and then finished him off with a shot straight to the spark." Optimus had a hand over his intake in horror, not sure how to really react beyond that. He was too horrified by what he was hearing. "As Nova's spark was fading, Megazarak got a harsh whiplash in the spark burnout, which was enough to overcome the stasis cuffs and he tore all twelve mechs apart. We found him cradling Nova's gray form and the Matrix nowhere in sight. They called me in just to see if the Matrix had returned to Primus or if it was stolen."

He turned around when they were fully inside the building, right next to that long pillar in the middle, and turned around to face the doors. He extended his arms towards the giant doors and they groaned as they started closing, revealing the engraving of the AllSpark in the middle of Cybertron, like a representation of Primus, and thirteen servos touching the planet's surface. Optimus jumped when the locks engaged and the image of the AllSpark was covered by the thirteen servos. He hadn't even realized there were transformation seams there.

"How did assassins pass off as acolytes, anyway?"

"The acolytes are chosen at random from each city for one of those ceremonies," the old mech explained, looking back to Optimus. "This time, though, the Council had decided to get involved. It took us a long while to figure out how they did it, but there is no longer a possibility for such a thing to be done again, even if those morons somehow stayed in power, which I highly doubt. The Council had covered their tracks well, last time. We had never thought they would go for the Prime. They had always gone for the Protector."

Optimus froze at that, a cold feeling settling in his Energon lines and his spark clenching in horror. "Is this where they also killed the Lord High Protectors, too?!"

"No, don't be ridiculous," the oldest known Cybertronian replied, sounding scandalized by the mere idea. "They had done it in the Fortress Maximus. Well, before they turned it into a giant weapon."

Somehow, that didn't make Optimus feel any better. Crazy, right? And please do note the sarcasm. Optimus wasn't sure if he'd stuffed enough of it in there. He decided to let it go. He'd really rather never touch that topic again, even with a thousand mechanometer long pole. "What about this sword?" He hefted his new weapon to make a point, watching its glow light up the platform they were standing on. "One second, it was three different, whole separate weapons and the next, _this_ happened. Why? Do you know? Because I have a feeling you do."

"Oh, yes I do. It's called the Hunter and it's Primus' way of keeping you safe." At the blank look he got from the Prime, Alpha Trion just shrugged. "His last conduit had been killed because he didn't have a weapon on himself. The Hunter will protect you even when you are incapable of fighting, yourself, or don't have any protection."

"Isn't it the Lord High Protector's job to keep the Prime safe?"

"Yes, because that works out just perfectly if something were to offline the Protector. No, Primus isn't taking chances this time around."

Optimus vented a deep sigh to steel his neural net so he doesn't snap at the Herald of Primus. Alpha Trion was a very old mech. Optimus couldn't blame him if he became eccentric over time. He refused to think the word senile out of respect and he didn't want to presume. "What is supposed to happen now? How can you - or Megatron, for that matter - be sure that I am a Prime? Sure, he and I are twins and, sure, he has the right programming, but I'm not really _suitable_ to be Prime. I'm an Academy washout, I can barely keep a Space Bridge repair crew in line. How do you expect me to command an entire _planet_ if I couldn't keep _them_ in line?"

"They're here, aren't they?" An ancient optic ridge arched. "You've made it, haven't you? You're on Cybertron, you're all alive and they're still there for you. I somehow doubt that _that_ would be the case if you didn't inspire _some_ loyalty in them, young Prime. They've given up on everything they have been taught their whole lives to follow you home, Optimus Prime, to ensure you reach this building at this time." Alpha Trion turned to that central pillar and gestured for his younger companion to do so as well. Optimus did, optics falling onto the open chassis of the should-be-Thirteenth-Prime and sticking there. "You know what is to be done now, my Prime. You can feel it in your spark. You can deny it all you like, young one, but you know very well, deep in your spark, that you are _ready_. And if you don't believe me, then there is only one way to test it." He stepped off of the platform and gestured for the red and blue mech to step closer to the pillar. "There is a secret chamber in that pillar that opens only for a Prime, chosen by Primus to be tested by the Matrix of Leadership. It is the Matrix that decides, however, if the Prime is worthy or _ready_ to take up its mantle and its burden. Are _you_ ready to be tested? Yes. Are you ready to be _Prime_? I would say yes, but if you are unsure, you will know in a few kliks. Just step closer, Optimus Prime, and test yourself."

Optimus took a shuddering intake and stepped forward, feeling more nervous than he had ever been before. The atmosphere in his vents froze and hitched as the secret chamber, in place of the Thirteenth's spark chamber, opened for him, revealing the brightly glowing ancient artifact, a lone, separate part of Primus' own Spark, the Matrix of Leadership. He almost backed away from it had the Matrix not pulsed warmth, almost unbearable amounts of affection and eternal welcome. His optics started glowing white, they were that bright, as he felt Primus through the artifact, the Creator of the Cybertronian race beckoning him. Without really being aware of it, his chest plates slid open and his spark chamber unlocked, revealing his spark. The Matrix lit up like a star and Cybertron gave a shudder as the artifact leaped into his spark chamber, engulfing his spark and molding itself into his frame. Optimus gave a pained yell, short-lived as it may be, as his chassis reformatted itself to accommodate the Matrix. The process was surprisingly swift and having the Matrix pulse beside his spark was a blessing he could have never asked for, as it filled him with ... comfort and confidence. It washed away all of his insecurities as though they had never been there in the first place. Being filled with Primus' presence and love actually made Optimus think he can _do_ this.

He snapped out of his thoughts when the secret chamber snapped open and the doors of the Primal Basilica burst open. He whirled around, only to find Alpha Trion kneeling before him and a much better looking Megatron leading the procession of their people, civilians and warframes both, into the sacred building. Optics widened when they spotted the glowing Matrix of Leadership in Optimus still bared chest, murmurs of disbelief, awe, fear and reverence filling the silent Basilica for the first time since Nova's semipublic assassination. No one seemed to dare to make a single move and Optimus guessed he could understand why. The presence of Primus was overwhelming. He would know. He had a direct uplink to him. Not even his friends dared come closer, possibly a little intimidated by the power coming from his body right now.

Only Megatron wasn't intimidated by the divinity of the moment and boldly stepped into the building, striding with confidence and a newly repaired knee joint - just how long had Optimus actually _been_ entranced by Primus through the Matric? Had it really been longer than he had thought? He hadn't exactly bothered to check his chronometer when he had been snapped out of his divine trance - until he was standing in front of the newly made - officially - Prime and knelt in front of him without an ounce of hesitation so they were more of a height, baring his spark in something like reverence. And as soon as Optimus could see the Decepticon Lord's spark, the gray plating in front of him started etching itself with the same ancient markings as on his new sword - the Hunter, he had to remember that it's name is the Hunter. But he was then distracted as he felt his own plating burning and looked down at his wrists and saw symbols appearing on his own plating, white as Earth snow. He snapped his attention back to his Lord High Protector when Megatron offered his servo to him and Optimus took it without a thought.

He jerked in surprise when their sparks immediately reached for each other and Megatron gently pulled him closer. "My Prime, I offer you my spark and loyalty before all of Cybertron. As your Lord High Protector, I swear I will do my best to keep our people and planet safe from any form of harm that may be presented before us. I promise my frame will become gray, my optics will become dark and my spark will go out before I allow Cybertron to fall." Megatron's optics were positively _burning_ and Optimus shivered. "Even to the servos of those who dare presume to be its leaders. This, I swear on my very spark. I will allow _no one_ to oppress our people. Be they civilians or warriors. Be they fliers or grounders. May Primus bear witness to my vow, for I intend to go offline keeping it. I bow to you, Optimus, my twin spark, my equal, my _Prime_. Our time is here."

Somehow, probably through the guidance of the Matrix, Optimus knew how to respond, stepping right into his counterpart's waiting embrace as their sparks latched onto each other. He put his servos on either side of Megatron's helm and brought their forehelms together. Both of their platings rattled with their shiver as they felt very accurately as their link started turning into a true _bond_. "Then rise, Megatron, my twin spark, my equal, my Lord High Protector, for Cybertron is now in our care and Primus calls for us to take up the duties he has created us for. For none other can take those duties as we should. Freedom is the right of all sentient beings and some of our brethren have been denying it to others and even to themselves. It is time for us to rectify this. I, Optimus Prime, swear by the Matrix of Leadership that this will _not_ happen ever again, may Primus bear witness to my vow."

"May Cybertron witness this vow and may Primus bless this union," Optimus heard Alpha Trion say, but it was as though he was talking far away and under water. His spark heard the words and Megatron's did, too, as they suddenly plunged into a full on merge, sparks entwining and a bond almost literally solidifying between them. Optimus for a while felt like he was drowning or maybe falling - not a happy memory, since he had offlined the last time he was indeed falling, back on Earth, after that clash against Starscream - but then he was caught by Megatron and they were _soaring_, high above Cybertron. Megatron was holding him close and wrapping around him, as if trying to hide him from the world as Cybertron seemed to transform. Huge servos came to cradle them at eye-level of equally big, gentle, loving white optics of Primus. Megatron had to shield his own optics from the gentle but too bright glow they emitted.

Optimus didn't. He stared their Creator straight in the optics and felt all of his love for _all_ of his creations, his pride in his new pair who were _finally_ as they should be and his happiness to finally meet the Prime stolen from them all. Optimus felt Primus reaching out to him, to his spark, through the Matrix and he let the deity in. For what felt like the briefest of nanoseconds, he saw it all: every spark in the AllSpark, deceased or yet to be born, his Prime predecessors and ancestors, their Lord High Protectors if they had them. He saw every spark currently pulsing in the land of the online, he recognized them all individually and he saw Primus' own spark. He saw the universe as it was, as it will be and as it had been so, so long before any other life had existed. He saw Unicron, too, and his Spark, thankfully far, _far_ away and he shied away from the darkness he generated and the void of lifelessness around him.

And then he was tugged back into the safety of Primus servos, of Megatron's embrace, back into reality as his chassis locked up his spark and the Matrix of Leadership away behind his chest plates. He gave a small gasp as he all but collapsed against his Lord High Protector, feeling worry oh so clearly over their finally fully established bond. He shivered at the prodding he felt and sent reassurance and glimpses of what he saw. He was surprised by how quickly the Matrix censored them and would have protested had he not known, deep in his very spark, that it was probably for the best. There was a very good reason only he had been shown that image, a very good reason only he could look their Creator in the optics. He had the Matrix to protect him. He was Prime. Megatron wasn't. Who knew what would happen to an - relatively, as he _was_ Lord High Protector and all - ordinary mech if they were shown what he had been just now? Optimus was surprised he himself wasn't overwhelmed, no matter how _normal_ it may appear to his newly activated protocols that had been dormant since his onlining until this very moment.

He was broken out of his train of thought and his attention was snagged by the cheering of the crowds that had gathered in the Primal Basilica just before he could attempt to study these new protocols closer. Megatron gave a small jerk as well and they both stood up, turning to face the cheering masses. It was mostly the Decepticons and very old Autobots, who had seen what the rule of a Prime and their Lord High Protector looked like. There were those that were receiving a brief explanation about what was going on and were politely clapping, intrigued by the truth behind the story of their leaders. There were those who were religious despite the Council's best efforts to uproot religion and the old beliefs altogether and they were just as loud and rowdy as the Decepticons. And there were the rare few Caminans that had come to visit or live on Cybertron who were cheering half of the time and the other half reciting prayers and praises to the Thirteenth and Primus, bowing to the chosen pair occasionally.

Megatron was still holding his servo and Optimus squeezed it, trying to get used to so many optics on them. The bigger, black hand squeezed back, offering love, comfort, reassurance, confidence and pride back.

"People of Cybertron," Alpha Trion stood up from his kneeling position and stepped down and a little bit away from the platform. The Basilica lit up as liquid, _pure_ Energon, as blue as the crystal in the Matrix's core, as blue as any Cybertronian spark, started flowing through the thirteen pillars and the walls, making the pictures there look even more breathtaking and accenting the religious beauty of the place. The depictions of the Thirteen Primes were coming into focus around the red, blue and silver Prime and his gray, black and red Lord High Protector, marks of Primus engraved into their plating for the rest of their days. Not even the blind could deny the presence of divinity in this building. Primus himself was bearing witness to his chosen coming into power. "It is my greatest pleasure to humbly introduce Optimus Prime and Lord High Protector Megatron, your guardians and guides, protectors and leaders, your representatives before the universe and before Primus. May they function long and well and may they lead us with a fair servo. Long live the Prime! Long live to Lord Protector!"

The mechs and femmes present broke out into even louder cheering, weapons being thrown about in place of other more celebratory objects, but no one moved to pick them back up which made Optimus' spark soar with pride and hope both. He looked at his friends and found them wearing gigantic grins on their intakes and he felt warm all over.

"Long live the Prime! Long live the Lord Protector!" They led the cheer, which was picked up faster than Energon and Optimus felt as though he could move _planets_, all his doubts and insecurities and worries swept away. Especially when Megatron swept him up and placed him on his shoulder, gazing up at him with adoration the likes of which Optimus had forgotten save for when he was in the deepest processes of recharge and he felt echoes of his spark twin's protective presence from their prenatal stasis.

"Long live the Prime."

Optimus smiled down at him and leaned over to place a chaste kiss on Megatton's nasal bridge. "Long live the Lord Protector."

The cheers were joined in by whistles and thunderous clapping and it all got only louder as the ships overhead started shooting in celebration.

"Long live the Prime! Long live the Lord Protector!"


	16. Chapter 16

**The Lost Prime**

**Summary: Primes and their Lord High Protectors are made as twins, their sparks coming online together far from other Cybertronian life, protecting one another until the Herald of Primus comes for them. However, the Council can't allow that and the newest Prime goes missing, his Lord Protector tearing Cybertron apart to find him. Every war has its reason. This one is just coming to light. TFA AU**

As joyous an occasion as 'crowning' a Prime and Lord High Protector, as Sari had called it, should be, the fight was far from finished and the war was still not over. Not with Fortress Maximus still highly fortified, protecting the Council and other Elite Guard commanding officers in there. The weapons systems may have been friend to slag by the Magnus Hammer, but that was only the outside defense hardware. The internal defense systems were likely still online and charged enough to kill anyone who might step inside. Even someone carrying a space warship energy shield generator would be obliterated if they stepped through the doors of Fortress Maximus. Optimus knew that. He'd been an Autobot more than long enough and had been a promising enough student of the Academy to study the design specifics of the Fortress. Ratchet knew it, as he had seen some of those defenses at work on a few occasions, back in the war. Jazz knew it. He was an Intelligence Agent of the soon-to-fall regime and had been a part of Ultra Magnus' own team. He knew the latest adjustments that may have been made since Optimus was all but exiled from Cybertron. Blurr, the incredibly fast racer who had defected to stay with Shockwave and serve the returned rightful leaders of Cybertron - the spy had apparently bonded with him, thus revealing all about the truth behind the propaganda passing on as history amongst civilians these days, making Blurr decide to change sides and not break the new sparkbond - knew, as another valuable Intelligence Agent. Shockwave knew it. He had been masquerading as the Autobot Head of Intelligence for the past few hundred stellar cycles! They all knew it and they were debating on how they should enter the building when Optimus had come up with the most logical idea.

Shockwave was just in the process of arguing with Blurr about why his speed _wasn't_ enough for the very lightly armored - did the speedster even actually _have_ armor? Or was it all just that _thin_ plating? Dear Primus, Optimus didn't want to think about what would have been left of Blurr if he were to go in first and get shot - to go in first, evade the weapons with his speed and make it to the nearest control counsel to deactivate further security systems from slagging anyone else that might be coming in behind him when Optimus spoke up. "I'll go."

"You most certainly will _not_!" Megatron, predictably, all but roared in protest, slamming a servo on their makeshift strategy 'table' - just a pile of scrap on which they'd placed an interactive holoprojector of Fortress Maximus - and making the metal groan under his assault. Almost everyone gathered around the 'table' flinched back, even some Decepticons, mostly those who had good self-preservation protocols. Optimus didn't so much as flinch when blazing red optics latched onto him and glared. "I have not just sworn to protect you to my last vent for you to decide and martyr yourself by going into direct line of intense laser fire for us! That is _not_ how we fix Cybertron! That is _not_ how we right all the wrongs! That is _not_ how this dynamic _works_, Optimus!"

"Megatron, would you just cool down!" Optimus yelled over whatever was going to come out of the older mech's intake next. "This is your protocols talking! Get them under control or excuse yourself from this meeting. I need you rational, not ... whatever this is!"

The Lord High Protector gave a savage sounding growl but attempted to stomp down on the raging protocols. He knew slagged well that his counterpart was right and Optimus' reassurance across the bond _did_ help some, but the Lord Protector coding was being fed by the history he and by his battle computer's estimation of possible results should Optimus be put in danger's way and were only fueling the protocols that were demanding to engage. He gripped the slab they were using as a tabletop with enough force to completely crush and mangle the his servos, making the gathered civilianframes - not Autobots; all those who stubbornly remained Autobots, rare few as they might have been after the events in the Primal Basilica, were locked away on one of their ships as prisoners and put into stasis so they couldn't cause them any trouble with minimal guard - step back in fear. Even a few of his own officers wisely retreated a step or two.

Optimus Prime remained unconcerned, confident that Megatron will never harm him and despite knowing that the Prime was now perfectly aware of just how Megatron's coding operated, the warlord was still touched by the show of trust and faith. It's what eventually helped him calm down enough to let go of the slab and straighten up, though his optics were still slanted in a very displeased glare. Part of his protectiveness may indeed come from his coding, but he had had a chance to meet and get to know the mech behind the destined Prime title and that only made him cherish him more. He didn't want to see his little one hurt if there was a way for him to prevent it. Still, he knew he had to be reasonable. If Optimus had a plan and a way to execute it with minimal if not completely free of casualties and injuries, then he had to at least hear him out and then reason with his coding about what was the best way to go about this. He can't smother Optimus by being obnoxiously overprotective. It would only eventually lead to mistrust, suspicion and distance, from both the civilianframes _and_ Optimus. He didn't want to ruin that which had taken long enough to finally happen and form.

"I apologize. Though you are correct that my coding is acting up, it is no excuse. I should be better capable of keeping it under control." He dipped his helm towards the rest of the mecha around the table before nodding to the firetruck. "Proceed, Optimus. I believe you were going to explain why you should be the first one to go in?"

The Prime gave him a suspicious look - he could still feel his bondmate's Lord High Protector coding trying to come online just bellow the surface through their newly complete bond - but didn't say anything further on the matter and returned the nod before gesturing the others to come back to the table and returned focus to the topic of conversation.

"Right. Now, I think _I_ should be the one to go in first because of the defenses. We've all established just how deadly they are and their reaction time might be able to catch Blurr if they fire in sequence and not all at once - the battle computers at the Fortress _are_ advanced enough to analyze the situation that much and quickly enough to be deadly for you, Blurr, no matter how fast you might be and you know it." The sky blue racer looked sheepish at that and Shockwave looked downright relieved that his mate won't be exposed to such deadly weaponry. "There are no alternate routes, even the underground tunnels have been sealed off, so we have to go through the main entrance. The weapons will be primed and focused on it. Scans indicate that there are three dozen mecha on the other side of the security systems, should we actually find a way around it and at least one last battalion right in front of the Council chamber, where they are trying to contact the Galactic Council for assistance."

"Thankfully, Shockwave had shut off all communications off-planet or else we'd be fragged," Strika commented with a nod towards the spy in acknowledgement. "That also doubled as a Primus-send for our battles at the colonies and Space Bridge outposts. Without further orders from High Command, even the biggest Elite Guard loyalists are sounding for a cessation of hostilities to spare their troops further damage or lost sparks. Only two colonies and a couple of Space Bridges are still being fought over. The biggest problem is here."

"It's not that big of a problem," Optimus insisted. "I can go in and not get injured."

"No you can't. Not unless the Matrix comes in with an inbuilt shield generator," Ratchet was the one to protest this time, glaring at the Prime. "Fortress Maximus is not holy ground or something, Optimus. It won't react like the Basilica did. It will slag you. Even warframe armor is like brittle glass under the fire of _those_ cannons."

"Processor-over-matter could help, if you give me and Jazz the opportunity to focus enough," Prowl threw in his own two credits, earning either intrigued looks or derisive snorts, depending on how well the gathered individuals were informed about the capabilities of cyberninjas. Jazz looked the most supportive of this idea.

"Or Sari could just overcharge the whole thing with her Key!" Bumblebee had the bright idea to suggest and that earned him glares from Optimus, Ratchet, Megatron and Sari, all who were rather well acquainted with the powers of the Key,both good and bad.

"Um, I don't think we want another Soundwave or Dinobots incident, little buddy," Bulkhead wisely interrupted that chain of thought before some Decepticon decided that Bumblebee needed a more ... servo-on approach.

Optimus just sighed and rubbed at his nasal bridge. "Would anyone actually like to hear my suggestion? Please? Or should I just go do it on my own?" That had everyone shutting up with nervous looks in Megatron's direction, whose face betrayed nothing but his optics and EM field promised violence and untold damage if Optimus actually decided to go through with that, especially if it was because of them.

"Go on," the Decepticon leader told his mate and Optimus nodded.

"I think my sword can keep me safe, if the weapon systems attack me," he stated, surprising everyone. A mere sword, stop Fortress Maximus!? Then again, it wasn't exactly a _normal_ sword, now, was it? Everyone had seen and heard about what happened in Iacon and how the fighting stopped so suddenly. A magical sword isn't exactly the weirdest thing they'd all heard about. "Alpha Trion said Primus crafted it for me to ... keep me safe, even when Megatron or anyone else couldn't, even when _I_ couldn't protect myself. It has already once reacted to an approaching threat even before my battle computer could fully register the mech as a threat to my function. I think it's safe to say it will react in much the same way if I am attacked by Fortress Maximus' weapons."

"And how sure are you of that theory?" Strika asked the question that was on everyone's processor. Or brain, as was most likely in Sari's case. They really needed to better study her techno-organic origins and function. "Because Alpha Trion is nowhere in sight to reassure us himself." The old mech had returned to the Hall of Records and said he will be there for when the Council will be overthrown. How he would know the exact moment that might happen still had Decepticons and former Autobots alike squinting suspiciously in the direction he had gone off to as soon as he had ushered everyone out of the Primal Basilica.

"Quite sure."

"On a scale of 1 to 10?" Sari asked suspiciously and Optimus smiled at her in Bumblebee's servos.

"A solid eight and a half." Megatron groaned at this but looked thoughtfully at the sword Opzimus now carried on his back. Ratchet and Sari had worked with a Decepticon engineer to construct a magnetic sling of sorts for the long sword, the Hunter, as both Alpha Trion and now Optimus insisted on calling it. What it hunts still remains a mystery, but the full activation of his Lord High Protector coding after sparkbonding with his Prime enabled Megatron to read the ancient glyphs on the sword and he knew the alternate name for the weapon was the Sword of Justice. He decided it was fitting enough, seeing in which campaign it had been crafted in and from which weapons. It was a weapon worthy of a Prime and indeed _was_ a gift from Primus to his newest Prime. Whether Optimus could read the glyphs, and the ones scattered over both their frames, is a conversation to be had _after_ this slag is dealt with. Megatron actually had next to no doubt that Primus' newest sword will keep his Prime safe. It's his Protector coding that was still hesitating.

"Perhaps we should test it before we let you walk into the Pit," he suggested and there were several protests to that as well, but the more pragmatical bots were nodding in agreement. If Optimus' sword indeed proved capable of withstanding random attacks of varying intensity, Optimus was their best bet to get them in before the Council actually found a way to somehow screw them over. It was best not to give them the chance.

"What do you have in mind?"

Megatron hesitated before answering Optimus' question. "Lugnut's missals, Starscream's Null Rays, Blitzwing's fire attack, battle grade stingers - I'm sure your medic can secure those on ... Bumblebee? Yes, Bumblebee - Shockwave's cannon and, eventually, Lugnut's POKE and ... my own Fusion Cannon, handled by Strika." There were protests anew but a revving of his engine had everyone shutting up. "I would like to remind everyone present that this will be _torture_ for me, so keep your fragging comments to yourself. It is best I do not have my cannon attached to my body, it will be hard enough to restrain me as it is." His coding most definitely protested the releases he activated in order to detach the Fusion Cannon from his servo and handing it over to Strika. He had already lost _one_ weapon and his systems were practically sulking at having to create another sword. He might have made the cannon removable so he can better clean or repair it, but it was no less a part of his frame than his very spark was. And that's not even mentioning the panic slowly seizing his spark at the prospect of being restrained when his Prime will be _fired upon_. He hoped he won't go mad from this little experiment. "I trust you, my Loyal General of Destruction, to be careful with how you wield this weapon."

Strika understood the warning growl in his voice and nodded, not taking offense. For once, Lugnut didn't show a sign of jealous that Megatron was showing appreciation to another instead of him for their loyalty. He was quite proud that his bonded and consort exercised such trust from their glorious leader. And he was already over the moon that Megatron trusted him enough to fire weapons at his bonded without hurting the Prime. Lugnut was quite humbled. Megatron was just relieved he won't be making any odes anytime soon.

They started the test as soon as Ratchet finished unlocking the full power behind Bumblebee's stingers. The protective forcefield that burst out of the Hunter before even the first weapon was fired was large enough to knock all the attacking mecha back by a few feet and was powerful enough to knock most civilians over. It was glowing merrily as it easily withstood any and all attacks directed at Optimus. Even when the Prime moved several mechanometers away from it, the protective field only expanded and neither POKE nor Megatron's Fusion Cannon so much as made the defenses waver. Surprisingly enough, Megatron's coding was only pinging him insistently that he protect his Prime. They weren't raging or clouding his judgment. They had clearly assessed that the Hunter could protect Optimus but they were still pinging him to go to his mate. Just in case. Though they greatly protested the indignity of the stasis cuffs and the gag put in his mouth so he didn't make any problems for the bots participating in the experiment.

When the experiment was over, though, they could no longer protest Optimus suggestion and begrudgingly let him go first. They gathered a good twenty mechanometers behind him as he pried open the doors of the Fortress Maximus with the Hunter and watched as the Hunter started glowing even before the doors were even starting to open. The blasters and missals and lasers and every other weapon immediately zoomed in on Optimus and released all Pit on him, but the Hunter never faltered and Optimus easily walked in, his sword clutched tightly in his servos. He'd really rather not test the range his new weapon had in protecting him. When he was deep enough in the corridor, he thought back to how he had disengaged all weaponry in the battle and made an arching slash through the air. A cackle of electricity, a wave of charged energy and the weapons all suddenly fell offline and didn't reengage, sparking from the forced shut down. The wave traveled further down the corridor until it had a crossroads with only a left or right turn and no further straight path, residual waves traveling both ways, taking out all the weaponry on the way. He heard panicked yells and yelps from in front of him as he started advancing again, well aware the others were following behind at a safe distance.

Optimus prowled on, not even bothering with searching for a counsel since the Hunter was doing its job, anyway. Blurr and Shockwave might have lagged behind to do it, anyway, not that anyone really noticed, swept up in the rush after Optimus.

Progress was quick. The Hunter was both the most effective defense as well as the most dangerous offense. Everything so far had been done with Optimus always having in mind that he didn't want to hurt anyone. The true potential of the weapon in his servos was far from reached, it wasn't even _scratched_ on the surface of and Optimus was a bit intimidated by the kind of weapon Primus had thought to create in order to protect his Prime. It was breems, really, before they reached the Autobots whose weapons were still online. Their fire ricocheted off of the forcefield the Hunter created as much as the Fortress' weapons' attack. The return fire from Optimus' side passed through the forcefield as if it wasn't even there. The Autobots saw this and started retreating, scared. They broke line and started running.

They were in front of the sealed doors of the Council chamber before half a joor was up. Megatron and Optimus exchanged a look, shot a glance at the mecha following them and nodded to each other. Optimus wedged the Hunter into the closed door at the same time Megatron did his remaining sword and they pushed in two different directions. Megatron's strength was more than enough to force the doors open while the Hunter's charge shut down any defense mechanism that might have put them in danger. There were more panicked and outraged noises coming from inside and blaster fire followed, but the Hunter was as efficient as it had been up to that point and no attack reached the ruling pair or anyone behind them. With hearing Strika order everyone to battle stations, Optimus and Megatron gave one last mighty push and pull and the doors opened fully, revealing the Council chamber and all the mecha inside.

"Kill them all!" One of the bots yelled at the same time Strika bellowed "Protect the Prime and Lord Protector!"

And the Council chamber lit up with laser fire.


	17. Chapter 17

**The Lost Prime**

**Summary: Primes and their Lord High Protectors are made as twins, their sparks coming online together far from other Cybertronian life, protecting one another until the Herald of Primus comes for them. However, the Council can't allow that and the newest Prime goes missing, his Lord Protector tearing Cybertron apart to find him. Every war has its reason. This one is just coming to light. TFA AU**

Megatron cursed Strika to the Pit and back as shots started flying over their helms and all around them, not bothering to deny the coding's demands that he tackle Optimus to the ground and out of the way of the incoming shots from both sides. Judging from the feelings coming over their bond, his mate was no more impressed with this course of action than he was, even as the Hunter came to life and formed a dome shield around them. He'll have to have a word or two with Strika about her zeal to take down the Council. He had promised their lives as a courting gift to Optimus, after all. If he had had to spare Ultra Magnus, then she had to spare them, too.

Optimus jerked under him and stared up at him with wide, surprised optics. "Wait, are you telling me you were hurt because you weren't fighting Magnus with all you have just because you promised me you won't offline him?"

"You said his and the Council's lives were suitable courting gifts, so I had hoped to deliver them before we bonded. I guess I got you four out of six. We _are _home, after all."

His Prime, though, didn't seem to appreciate his efforts. "You glitch-head! What if you got even more hurt!? What if they had offlined you!? They certainly wouldn't have shown you the same mercy you would them! I can't _lose _you, Megatron! Not when we are so _close_! Not when we are _finally _as we should be!" Optimus actually reached up to hit him upside the helm, making the Decepticon rear back in surprise more than pain. Optimus had not meant it to be hard enough to be painful, just felt, and warframe plating was far too tough to be in any way damaged by the reprimanding strike. Pit, it was more of a love-tap, all things considered. The implication behind it still stung and was more than loud and clear. "How can you be so stupid!?"

"I thought it might make you pleased!" The larger mech said indignantly, growling when a grenade exploded too close to them for his comfort, even with the Hunter still somehow absorbing all the attacks that came even relatively near them. How the others were having a miniature war with them in the middle and the Hunter doing its job, Megatron will never understand. "You said you wanted six things as courting gifts! Since you seemed so displeased with being gifted a planet, you asked for six things yourself! Six things, two of which included the lives of Ultra Magnus and the Council and a fair trial for them, never mind that they'd never return the courtesy, and not rejecting or punishing Autobots. How am I supposed to present you with six courting gifts if one of them is only half of what it should be!?"

"So you didn't bother to take Ultra Magnus seriously!? He's been a good fighter even _before_ they found him the Magnus Hammer! You shouldn't underestimate your opponents! Look at how that ended between us! I threw you into Earth's atmosphere and you remained offline for fifty stellar cycles! You would have _remained_ offline had it not been for Sari's Key!"

"But I am _not_ offline now and despite the minor damage I took and the loss of a sword, I am perfectly fine!"

"I _felt_ you saying _goodbye_, you jerk!" A fist hit him right over his Decepticon insignia and Megatron winced, more from the pain he felt over their shared bond than, once again, from the blow. There was something suspiciously like coolant gathering at Optimus' optics and Megatron's own widened in alarm. "You were leaving me with the Decepticons! You said they were _mine_! You almost _died_ up there and were telling me to free our people! That is not _fine_!" Those blue servos stopped abusing his frame and instead wrapped around his neck cables as Optimus arched up to cling to him. "I thought you were _gone_. Had the Hunter not done what it did ... I can't lose you."

Megatron sighed and wrapped an arm around his Prime, the other holding him up. He looked out of the shield of their protected bubble, watching as Decepticons and former Autobots fought against the Elite Guard, the Council and the remaining Autobot forces. "I admit to ... Getting overconfident in the fight and slightly distracted when you were injured. I couldn't really keep my cool with the things Magnus was throwing at me like taunts. I worried for you. And then the Steelhaven's cannon was pointing at me and the Magnus had disappeared out of the way ... I honestly thought I was going to die. Then that blinding light happened and the shot almost got me and I don't even know from where Magnus had reappeared from. I just know that we had thrown ourself back into the fight. It wasn't pretty but at least I got him for you."

"Of all the reckless, thoughtless, _stupid_ things to do!" His mate started raging again but Megatron ignored him as his systems informed him of a strong explosive landing right next to the edges of the Hunter's shielding and it exploded just as the warframe curled up to entirely cover his smaller companion from the blast that never even reached them. "As if I'd prefer you offline to them online! You're glitched in the head!"

"You say such sweet of things," rumbled Megatron sarcastically even as his spark warmed at the admission of care.

"I should have Ratchet chek you for loose screws!"

Another blast and Optimus actually winced this time. It had been bright enough to hurt the optic sensors. Megatron frowned.

"Perhaps we should continue this conversation at a later date."

"Oh, you are _not_ getting so easily out of this one, mister!" The Decepticon leader snorted at that.

"I wouldn't dare imagine otherwise, my Prime, but we _are_ in the midst of battle," he said as he stood up, bringing the smaller mech with him with ease. Said battle raged on regardless of whether the two mechs in the middle ground were lying on the floor or standing. "Perhaps this is not the best place or time to be having this conversation, beloved."

Optimus frowned at the fighting going on around them, a scowl settling on his lip plates as he extended a servo and the Hunter happily floated into it, settling with satisfaction as though it belonged there. Seeing as Optimus insisted it was created for the sole purpose of protecting his Prime, Megatron figured it just might. "Perhaps." Megatron watched as his co-ruler stepped out of his embrace, placed his pedes equally apart and thrust the Hunter a bit into the ground. He winced as the electrical surge came from the weapon and traveled through him, feeling immediate discomfort as he felt his Fusion Cannon going offline. The effect was almost immediate everywhere, almost like a tidal wave, as the closest weapons towards the farthest all came offline one by one in quick succession. His Decepticons whined in disappointment when they realized what had happened and the former Autobots amongst them kind of just awkwardly held onto their fried weaponry. On the other side, the mechs who had _no_ idea of just how the Hunter had devastated their colleagues' weapons earlier, were still frantically trying to online their weapons with no results. Optimus nodded with satisfaction as he drew the Hunter out of the floor and strapped it to his back. "That's better. We can talk like civilized mechs now."

"Traitor!" One of the Council members exclaimed, pointing a finger in a rude and very childish manner at the Prime. "You have betrayed your own brethren for a bunch of monsters! You have _no right_ to speak here!"

"I think you will find that he indeed has right to speak here, Councilmember Elenator," a familiar voice said and both Prime and Lord High Protector turned incredulous optics as Alpha Trion casually walked in from behind the Council's platform as though he hadn't just walked into an aborted impromptu battle ground. "For if a _Prime_ has no right to speak, what right do _you_ have? None at all, that's what. Optimus Prime, Lord High Protector Megatron," the old mech nodded to both indignant rulers - if he had a secret way in, _why_ had they just had to practically fight their way through half of Fortress Maximus!? Why hadn't he just _told_ them!? - in welcome. "Please excuse these fools. I rather doubt they'll be causing you trouble with their disrespect for much longer."

"You can bet your entire Archives that they won't," Strika grunted, approaching the stand a little too eagerly to be of any comfort for either Lord Protector or Prime but neither stopped her advance. She had a pair of stasis cuffs in servo, after all. Detainment, not offlining. As long as the Council received a fair trial that addressed all of their crimes but gave them a chance to speak in their defense, the Galactic Council won't have the ground to accuse neither Megatron nor Optimus about foul play regarding their ascent to power. They'll have enough problems from _them_ when the universe realizes two of the strongest and largest forces were going to unite, both their peoples, their armies and their territories, under one rule, under Prime and Lord High Protector. They didn't need any more interference from the Galactic Council while they are rebuilding their world.

Megatron watched in satisfaction as Team Charr approached the Council with stasis cuffs and gags. "As Lord High Protector, with the power vested in me by our beneficial Creator Primus to uphold the laws of Cybertron, I hereby arrest you for the following crimes: assault of sparklings, assault on the Prime, assassination attempt of the Lord High Protector, ordering the assassination of Nova Prime, obstruction of justice, oppression of the warframes, losing the AllSpark, attempted recreation of the functionist regime, exile of the Lord High Protector, theft of the Prime, attempted murder of the Prime, starting a war, oppression of Cybertron's people, unethical medical procedures, unethical treatment of prisoners of war, unethical scientific projects and research, oppression of the truth, fear-mongering, altering historical records, presenting propaganda as history, restriction of reading materials, restriction of the rights of speech, restrictions of criticism, restriction of writting materials, oppression of the freedom of the pen, sending civilians into the mines without adequate equipment, improper treatment of colonies, unequal distribution of Energon for all, unequal political standing in all Cybertronians, attempted recreation of the caste system, murder of Lord High Protector Galvatron, murder of Lord High Protector..."

"This is going to take a while," Optimus sighed at Megatron's side, looking around the chambers in which he had been kicked out of the Autobot Academy a thousand and fifty one stellar cycles ago, after the death of Elita-1. Now he was here to reclaim a title he was onlined for, Elita-1 was alive, even if she called herself Blackarachnia, and he wasn't fighting the Decepticons or keeping them _away_ from Cybertron. He was trying to integrate them back to their home world and amongst their smaller brethren. The cause of the war was still present. In this room, quite literally. He and Megatron had a lot of work to do. The trials for the Council mecha alone will take up a stellar cycle at the very _least_ with the crimes Megatron was reciting one by one as they were being cuffed. "How could a handful of mecha create this much trouble?"

"Power is a dangerous thing, indeed," Alpha Trion said to the Prime as he came to stand before him. "It can tear worlds apart as much as it can build them. How will you use the power gifted to you is what matters in the end. Power is power. It can corrupt only if you are weak to its temptations."

Megatron heard Optimus shift uncomfortably at his side and glanced down to the two civilianframes without breaking stride in his tirade as he listed off all the crimes the Council had committed over the vorns. And by _Primus_, there were so many. This was part of the Lord High Protector's duties. The Enforcers filed their reports to him as well as the Courts. The Lord High Protector had to be aware of everything and anything disturbing the peace and safety of their people. The Lord High Protector even _arrested_ high profiled individuals that had to be brought before the Courts. In the presence of the Prime, of course. There are no secrets between Cybertron's rulers. It was why every Prime and Lord High Protector were onlined with twin sparks, well away from the rest of Cybertron's population, and why they always bonded. Not only did it allow them a deeper understanding of each other and any points of view, opposing or agreeing, but it also prevented corruption or imbalance in power between them. There was a good reason why over nine billion years of recorded Cybertronian history wrote about just how successful this type of rule was, especially in comparison to the others. The current Council they were arresting spoke volumes of just how corrupt any other system can get, where mechs are only trying to further their own interests instead of thinking about what was best for all of Cybertron's people.

The Lord High Protector and the Prime were literally _bound_ by their most essential coding to put Cybertron and its people first. With their strong bond between them and the guidance of the Matrix of Leadership, there was next to no chance for either ruler corrupt as long as they both lived. The only downside to this type of rule was that the death of one leader might lead to the madness of the other, as history has shown. There is a _reason_ why Primus always worked extra hard to create the next ruling pair if something were to happen to one or the other of his chosen so they can be replaced by their successors so that the remaining mech can peacefully follow their mate into the Well. Sentinel, Zeta, Nominus and Megazarak had not been of that luck, had not received that mercy.

And it was _all_ because of _these_ petty fools.

They didn't deserve his Prime's mercy.

But Megatron had made a promise to Optimus. None of these corrupt mechs will be offlined unless that is the verdict of the Courts. And they'd have to sweep the Courts for corruption as well, before they can start the process. Megatron could already feel a helmache coming on. And that was even _without_ figuring out how much of the _military_ was corrupt. Or the educational system. And then there were Shockwave's reports about the unfair Energon distributions. Thankfully, there were plenty former miners in his ranks. They'll get a real pay for their job, if they accept it, this time around, as opposed to the _last_ time they risked their lives every joor in the underground tunnels, searching and mining for Energon while electrical whips fell on their plating despite them working hard and with utmost efficiency.

There was a lot to rebuild.

Thankfully, there were a lot of mecha to help with it.

And even more thankfully, the Decepticons' old mercenary business during the first few hundred stellar cycles had built up quite a monetary fond so they can more than afford it, especially if they all opened all of those old trade routes and deals. There were many organic worlds that had dealt with Cybertron before Autobots took over the planet and put a stop to it due to their xenophobia and hatred towards organics.

"...and for usurping the rightful rulers of Cybertron, chosen by Primus himself. Your court date will be addressed to your current living arrangements, the North Tower, where you will be held under house arrest with minimal communication with the outside world until the court date arrives. You have the right to remain silent. Be aware that anything you say can and will be used against you in Court. You have the rights to an attorney. If you cannot afford one yourselves - which I _rather_ doubt - the state will arrange for one in your designation. You are hereby stripped of all power or political immunity due to your crimes. Attempt resistance or escape and you will be thrown into Tryticon." Megatron couldn't stop his lip plates from curling into a cross between a grin and a snarl. The Councilmembers looked ready to leak themselves but were equally enraged that all of their crimes had come to light. "There will be no trials _in absentia_. Attempt to obscure justice or lie in court and you will be facing a life sentence. Any questions?" There were none. "I thought as much. Take them away."

"My Lord," Strika and Cyclonus and their company said with a shallow bow before herding or carrying the Council out of the chamber and proceeding to the brig of Decepticon ships, where they will be watched _very closely_.

Megatron sighed but turned to look at his partner, optics lingering a bit on the new designs on his Prime's plating due to whatever the Matrix had done to them when they had bonded. It looked quite breathtaking on Optimus. It made him look regal. "It is over."

"For now," said red and blue mech observed, looking around the chambers. Megatron knew, due to their bond, that he was already thinking of how to create a fair council of advisers that represented them all. Making such a council that won't become corrupt with time win't be easy. Perhaps they should adopt some human customs? Megatron had always been rather curious about their elections and their 'democracy', though no such thing actually existed among humans. They might have fooled themselves, but an outsider's view was more insightful than theirs. Optimus looked up at him and gave a small, almost invisible smile, agreement obvious over their bond. "There's so much to do. I don't know where we can even _start_."

"We've already started with the formal arrest of the Council. We need to give one to the Magnus as well before we can claim power. After that, we must make a strategy and take this one step at a time," he gestured towards the deserted platform of the Council and the Elite Guard and Autobots slowly being herded out of the chamber in stasis cuffs. "It will not be easy and it will most certainly take quite some time."

"We'll need to make a formal address to the public due to the bonding." Optimus said, turning his back to the Council and walking out of the chamber, trying not to get in the way of the working mecha.

Megatron followed, hands clasped behind his back. "We'll need to speak before the Galactic Council as well."

"The Autobot prisoners need to be screened."

"The Elite Guard needs to be questioned and determined just how much they were involved with the Council's dirty business."

"All that propaganda has to go."

"Decepticon cities need to be rebuilt. Tarn and Kaon firs; they have massive, rich Energon mines."

"As do the roads."

"The flight paths need to be reestablished."

"We need to open the Archives to the people. Everybot should be allowed to read what they want without the fear of repercussions."

"As well as the Primal Basilica. Religion has taken a backseat to the Council's interests for long enough. Our people need to _remember_ just who gave them life and all they have."

"Military reform is a must."

"Civilian reform."

"There are also Decepticon war criminals we can't ignore, no matter the Cause they've fought for. We can't show favoritism. Not now."

"Not ever. All will be treated fairly and equally. No crime is to go unpunished."

"There's also the matter of the AllSpark. We need to return it to the Well." Optimus paused, looking up at him with those pretty blue optics of his. Megatron locked his red gaze with the Prime's and shivered at the echo of ancient knowledge and power that now can constantly be seen through Optimus' optics. That will need some getting used to. "That's the only way Vector Sigma will be producing both young civilianframes _and_ warframes. There hasn't been a sparkling since the end of the Great War. Everyone from my generation - well, what I _thought_ was my generation, anyway; and a few generations before me and _every_ one after me - were sparks extracted from the AllSpark before it was jettisoned through a random Space Bridge, put in stasis to later be accessible to new protoforms. There hasn't been a single sparkling since the Great War. We need to rectify that."

"We'll need to rebuild the Youth Sector, as well. Vos, too" Megatron said with a grin as he took Optimus servo in his, placed a kiss to the knuckles before lovering his hand and they continued walking, the Prime's face heating up a bit until he realized the implications behind Megatron's words and the work that would entail.

"We'll have to rebuild and reform the schools, especially the civilian ones! Those things teach only propaganda ever since the war started!" They continued debating as they got further and further away from the Council chamber, only they didn't seem to notice that their servos were still clasped securely together. Their people did, however, and it inspired hope, especially in those old enough to have lived under the rule of a Prime and his Lord High Protector.

Megatron and Optimus remained oblivious to it as they rebuilt their world one word at a time.


	18. Chapter 18

**The Lost Prime**

**Summary: Primes and their Lord High Protectors are made as twins, their sparks coming online together far from other Cybertronian life, protecting one another until the Herald of Primus comes for them. However, the Council can't allow that and the newest Prime goes missing, his Lord Protector tearing Cybertron apart to find him. Every war has its reason. This one is just coming to light. TFA AU**

"And it's operational!" Bulkhead declared and Sari and Bumblebee gave a cheer as the Space Bridge lit up, confirming a secure connection to the one that had been built on Earth two decacycles ago, when finally the needed crew and materials and time and fonds had been wisely invested in creating the bridge on the small organic planet that had been a second home to the former Autobots stranded there for an entire stellar cycle. It was about slagged time, too, if you asked anyone who had come to love that planet, so many light years away from Cybertron, and especially Sari, whose visits to both her home worlds were limited due to the distance and the time the trips took altogether. The building of the bridge had lasted three Earth months but it was finally finished, under Bulkhead's watchful optics. They had just had their first test with a piece of scrap metal and Professor Sumdac had commed them that it had arrived in the same condition it had been on the other side.

The Space Bridge was ready for use.

"Alright, Bulkhead. Invite Professor Sumdac and Captain Fanzone through," Optimus said with a bright smile on his faceplates as he stood amongst his friends at the bottom of the Bridge, waiting for their human friends as eagerly as everyone else. It had been a good ten years since he had last seen a human other than Sari. While his old team could afford to go with the now young woman whenever they pleased, Optimus had a planet to run and the rebuilding was still not even close to done. He smiled when the two familiar humans stepped through but was surprised by how much they had changed. Sari was surprising enough and he saw her half of the stellar cycle. Captain Fanzone had lost a bit more hair and had more wrinkles and Professor Sumdac's once black hair was all gray save for one streak of black that had remained, in a parody of the single gray streak the man had had when they had first met him. And his hair wasn't nearly as wild as it used to be. It was thinner and he had even more wrinkles than Captain Fanzone. It was still a wonderful experience to see them again, before their lifetimes ended. A human life was so short in comparison to a Cybertronian one, Optimus had feared he'd reset his optics and miss it. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Professor Sumdac, Captain Fanzone, and welcome to Cybertron."

"It's good to see you as well, Optimus Prime," Professor Sumdac said with a smile, shaking Optimus' finger in an echo of that first day on Earth when the mech bent down. "I did not expect not to see you again for ten years after you left. I'm not sure whether I should blame Megatron or something else." The Prime laughed and shook his head.

Fanzone chuckled as well, looking around at the city of Iacon beyond the field of the Space Bridge Nexus. "You're looking good there, Big Bot. You seem to be doing fine."

"Thank you," Optimus replied, shaking Fanzone's hand as well. "I'm actually great. Better than I have been most of my function, even though there's a lot of work to do around here." Optimus offered them his servo and picked them up as he walked back towards the Fortress Maximus. The two humans were somewhat stunned and intimidated by the seemingly impossibly tall buildings around them as the Prime made his way through the streets. "I must say that your visit is incredibly well timed," he shot a look at his former team from Earth at that, to which Sari and Bumblebee just whistled innocently, Bulkhead shifted uneasily, Jazz gave him a grin, unashamed, and Prowl remained unmoved by it. Ratchet just shrugged.

"Oh?" The blond man asked, arching an eyebrow. "How's that?"

"Well, today we just finished Sentinel's trial. It's finally done," the red and blue fire truck took a deep ventilation of relief. "It took us ten years but we've finally done it. It's over. We can finally start anew."

"Why did it take so long? I thought Sari said it was pretty straightforward," the scientist sounded confused. "Shouldn't it have ended easily?"

"It should have been, but but there was a problem with the Courts." Optimus sounded so resigned that the two humans exchanged uncertain looks.

"Um, what was the problem with the Courts? Too many cases?" The policeman asked and the Prime rubbed his face tiredly.

"Well, yes, that too. And too many cases that needed to be reviewed and throughly checked because of the corrupt Council. But while checking the Courts for any Council influences or corruption, we found that there was not one mech in the entire legal and justice system that hadn't been put there by the Council. It took us three whole years just to get rid of them and another year to build a new system. Cybertron is a big planet. It takes a while to uproot corruption when it happens on this level." He sighed again but smiled and waved to a few sparklings and younglings that yelled after him in excitement. It wasn't rare to see either Prime or Lord High Protector walking the streets of Iacon or any other city, checking on the rebuilding efforts or some administrative thing or another. It was still an honor for youngsters to meet the leaders of their planet, especially since neither ever refused to take a moment to indulge them and play a game or two with them. "We had to resort to putting Minocons in charge of the Courts as well as the prisons. It was the only way to make it fair. Well, the only way without getting the new Parliament involved too much. The judges are all Minicons and the jury is one third civilianframes, one third warframes and one third Minicons to prevent any possible bias from deciding the ultimate fate of any perpetrator."

"Parliament? As in, like back on Earth kind of parliament or completely different?" Fanzone asked, apparently very interested in the administrative bodies of an advanced, robotic alien race. Then again, the Autobots' - and the Decepticons', even if he will never admit to it even under the pain of death - absence from Earth those first few months had seen an increase in human crime from the likes of people like Henry Masterson, Professor Princess, Angry Archer, Prometheus Black and some new faces that Optimus had only heard about from his friends. It had been a relief for Fanzone when Prowl, Bumblebee, Ratchet and Jazz arrived back to Earth on Omega Supreme and dealt with some of the criminals. Optimus' absence was felt from the team, as was Bulkhead's, but Team Prime, as they were now called, had managed. Still, Detroit missed the transformers they had gotten so used to, even the Decepticons who usually tried to have as little contact with them as possible. At least the Cons had kept _Masterson_ and his HeadMaster unit away.

"Similar to your Earth customs, but not quite the same," Optimus replied, trying to think of a way to explain it. "We had to do an extensive investigation into all candidates before we could put anyone in the new Parliament and that was an exhausting enough process without giving them additional background checks. You never know when one of them could have been a previous regime supporter. Since we were trying to kill all that was left of caste, class and function restrictions, we couldn't have someone who thought those were good ideas sitting in a parliament that was discussing which laws to bring back and which to keep. The Prime-Protector regime laws were all, as expected, immediately accepted but we had to check some of the other past regulations just in case there were better alternatives. It's only fair. We can't overlook something because of prejudice and propaganda. Some of those regimes had decent solutions to some of our current problems. The less decent ones I don't want to even think about. Our Parliament is similar to yours in that we have representatives for the people, only we don't have political factions - we've had enough of those, thank you - or parties. We have a bot each to represent a city, a frame type - civilian or warframe, flier or grounder - a profession, a 'gender' as you would say - femme or mech - a wealth level and military or civilian life style, all for all frame types. As you can imagine, that's a lot of mecha gathered for just _one_ city and there are well over a million big cities on Cybertron and an additional two million smaller cities and settlements. And that's not even counting all the colonies, formerly Autobot and Decepticon both and don't forget the neutrals, and Luna 1 and 2. The Parliament is led by Alpha Trion, thankfully, and all the mecha that sit in it are chosen by the people, so there is no foul play. Megatron and I take the Parliament's decision into account when finally accepting or disregarding a law suggestion. So far, it's been pretty much unanimous. The Parliament has to give at least 70% approval for their vote in the matter to be a clear _yes_, or disapproval if it's a _no_. It had started off as a very long and very tiring process, but it's getting better. Especially as our organic worlds are finally sending in their ambassadors to take their rightful seat in the Parliament. I'll have to have a word with them that a single person isn't enough - better me than Megatron, who had conquered them, even if interspecies relations is the Lord High Protector's job. You are being informed right this moment, by the way, if no one had told you sooner, so you should probably start gathering people."

"That's a _lot_ of politicians in one place, Prime. Don't you fear a power struggle?"

The religious and civilian leader of Cybertron smiled down at his companions. Fanzone had a right to worry. A previous power struggle had led to a war that had landed Team Prime, the AllSpark and Megatron on Earth as a consequence in the first place. "No Parliament member can gather support from other Parliament members outside of his own city state. We have Space Bridges, Captain Fanzone. With the amount of Energon we're producing, we can practically keep them constantly online if needed. Most of the Parliament members are eager to go home as soon as the sessions are over. They don't get much time to interact and most members don't even know each other by designation. If you don't know a mech and their motives, you can't form an alliance and _try_ to bring about a power struggle."

"That sounds suspiciously like something Megatron would do," Sumdac observed and a snort made the two humans nearly jump right out of Optimus' hand.

"That's because it _is_, Professor Sumdac," the Lord High Protector said as he approached the three at a lazy pace, his optics flicking between the two organics before settling on his Prime. Sumdac and Fanzone were certainly surprised by the amount of affection that settled on Megatron's metallic face when looking at the once Autobot. They were even more shocked to recognize the almost identical markings on him as on Optimus. "My Prime. I see you have brought guests." He then nodded to the two humans. "Professor Sumdac, Captain Fanzone. It is good of you to finally come and visit. I take it the Space Bridge is operational?"

It wasn't really a question but Optimus still answered it with a nod of his helm, smiling at the much bigger mech. "It was just brought online and tested and had its maiden transwarp. Bulkhead did a wonderful job, as always."

Megatron just nodded, optics still focused on the organics. "I know you may think of my move as a manipulation of sorts, but it is for the best as long as we are still rebuilding. As Optimus has no doubt informed you, the court trials have only finished today. Ultra Magnus, the Elite Guard and the Council had some loyal supporters who have greatly benefited from their rule, the Council especially. Freedom and equal rights for all don't bring as much profit. And seeing as it is the cohesive alliance of the Council that had brought about the assassinations of three Lord High Protectors and one Prime - that one had many of our people demanding their helms mounted on a pike and paraded around Cybertron, just so you know - it is for the best that they never form too strong bonds between themselves. Such alliances lead to corruption or forming of factions. As it is now, each Parliament member has a small fraction of power and a responsibility to his or her group of people. Unity is good. It will come with time, as Cybertron recovers. Alliance between them will only end with more sparks extinguished. And another Great War will kill our planet."

"It still sounds wrong, like tyranny by obliviousness" Sumdac insisted and the former warlord snorted at this.

"Of course a short lived organic would think so. One of your lifetimes is barely an orn for our species. Not even a Parliament member's mandate." He narrowed his optics at the man that had eviscrated his head, some echoes of disdain still beating inside his spark. "They're not oblivious, Professor. We're not _forbidding_ them from interacting. Sure, we have provided them with a means to return to their homes immediately, if they wish so, but we do not discourage them to stay nor do we encourage them to avoid interactions. They are simply aware that there is much to do, that their homes need them more than they themselves need some sort of political or administrative power. It's what makes them popular amongst our people. Mechs and femmes that sit in the Parliament are _chosen_ to speak in the best interest of their people. I believe you humans have a saying '_By the people, for the people_' or something similar. These Parliament members go by that motive. Prime and Lord High Protector are the ones who unite them."

"Still sounds wrong."

"Oh, for spark's sake!" The gray mech huffed in exasperation, looking done with it all. "Optimus has an ancient relic that connects him to our Creator and god and he hasn't been zapped by it yet, so we are _clearly_ doing _something_ right. When Primus decides we're no longer suitable for our roles, we'll be dully _informed_. Not that it is any of _your_ business."

"Megatron," his Prime said in a warning voice, making the mech bristle but say nothing. "Be nice."

"As my Prime wishes," Megatron said and showed his displeasure by giving a very Starscream-like bow. That is to say, half mocking and not at all sincere. He then pivoted on his heel and stalked away, anger radiating in his field. Optimus sighs and just hands Sumdac and Fanzone over to Prowl before excusing himself. The two humans watched as he jogged after the larger ruler in startled confusion, jerking in surprise when Ratchet gave a long, loud groan.

"Sheesh, you sure did manage to push old Megs' buttons there, Prof. I've rarely ever seen him react like that." Bumblebee commented and would have whistled had Ratchet not wacked him over the helm.

"I have never gotten the impression that Megatron was so ... sensitive," Fanzone said with irony but shut up when Ratchet shot him a glare.

"Yes, well, that happens when the organic that had utilized his head to further his own goals and used his servo as a chair dares accuse him of being like the mechs and the system he has spent his entire function fighting against. He may be chosen by a deity and bonded to what amounts to a demigod, but neither he nor Optimus are perfect. They've done a great job so far and Megatron doesn't appreciate the shortcomings of their hard work being pointed out by people who haven't seen their struggles or don't understand the complexity of the system they're trying to create. The Council had been a disaster and the Senate before it had been a nightmare. The Parliament is only an advising body that should, technically, represent the people and their satisfaction or discontent, needs or problems and it is utterly unneeded but Megatron had insisted on it, anyway."

"Wait, what do you _mean_ 'unneeded'?" Both humans asked, startled and perplexed. To be expected.

"Primes are the center of our people. Through the Matrix of Leadership that rests in their very spark, they feel what every Cybertronian feels and they _know_ what is needed. As long as their Lord High Protector is alive, the Prime serves the people in a way no other ruler, _anywhere_, even in _hives_, can. There's a reason why the Prime-Protector regime was always the most loved and enjoyed and why the _true_ Golden Age of Cybertron had been when they were the ruling diad. Megatron and Optimus are _very_ popular with our people. I wouldn't be surprised if they get monuments erected for them. They finally _really_ brought us out of the Great War and are destroying all the systems that have been restricting us since Lord High Protector Galvatron was murdered and Sentinel Prime went mad - no, not _that_ Sentinel, although he'd definitely been named after the right bot." Ratchet gave the two a pointed look. "As you can see, Megatron wants this peace to last. Forever, if it can, but he's not an idealist and is always making contingencies. A Prime has been murdered once and that old rust bucket has fears that someone will try the same with Optimus. Not all that irrational, as you already know how they onlined. He's giving the people a visible sort of power that they had always had in an attempt to protect Optimus."

"But I thought he's the protector, as in of your whole _race_," Fanzone sounded as confused as Sari had been when the full extent of how the Prime-Lord Protector dynamic really works, too. As any of the younger bots had when the older ones tried their best to explain. Alpha Trion had had to do an interview with several news stations for the younger part of their people to understand fully. It had taken decacycles.

"And the Prime is the very spark of all Cybertronians," Prowl was the one to reply this time. "The deactivation of Nova Prime had led to the start of our war. The death of a Prime always brings about instability."

"And the Lord High Protector's _highest_ priority will always be his Prime. It's difficult to explain to a species who don't have sparks, so we'll just leave it at that. The less we confuse you, the better," the medic huffed again, looking after where the ruling pair had disappeared to. Not at all unexpectedly, they had marched off in the direction of the Primal Basilica, where their quarters were at. It was a bit more than just a religious place of their people, as it was also the most secure building on the planet. "Just remember that Megatron has a temper and is stressed and has a very short fuse when someone dares even _imply_ a comparison between him and his previous oppressors. Not that I blame him. Or you, for that matter. You didn't know. Just ... lay off, okay?"

The two humans, as utterly confused as they might be, agreed and Sumdac even resolved to throughly apologize to the gray mech the next time he sees him. For now, he and Fanzone enjoyed the rest of their tour and were even humbled and honored to be invited to a ceremony in the Primal Basilica the next morning.

And speaking of the Lord High Protector and the Basilica, they were now sandwiching the Prime as Megatron all but devoured his smaller mate's intake, in desperate need to forget the foolish human's half accusations. Optimus didn't mind, mewling in delight as Megatron squeezed his aft. He knew his counterpart needed this and was enjoying the attention he received in the process. What had started off as a fairly innocent bond had quickly went from zero to a million miles per hour as their sparks longed for more merges, ones where they didn't have to do it in front of thousands of prying optics. And Megatron had kept his word; as soon as the Council was behind bars and they started the rebuilding of their planet, he had started wooing his Prime like no other mech has ever been wooed. He'd make the old Lord Protector's green with envy with how his Prime accepted the gifts and he had some quite innovative ideas.

Like getting Sumdac to reverse-engineer a jetpack for his Prime and teaching him how to fly. Optimus so loved flying that one wondered how his spark was that of a civilian. Well, it's not, not really. Primes are a category of their own.

And Cybertron only found joy, entertainment and contentment in their ruling diad's relationship, as it meant a steady and secure era for them. And it was great gossip. Everyone loved talking about how their warframe ruler made their Prime blush on this fine orbital cycle. Optimus didn't know whether he should be annoyed or embarrassed. Not that he cared. All that mattered was that Megatron took great delight in continuously courting him, as though they weren't already bonded. The Matrix delighted in it even more than he did. Primus found them both much too cute for Optimus comfort. It was like the three of them had ganged up on him and Alpha Trion was a traitor for only further encouraging the Lord High Protector with new absurd ideas. Not that Optimus would deny Megatron. Not when he himself loved it.

"That foolish, insignificant, uninformed, uneducated, simplistic, idiotic-" Optimus rolled his optics when Megatron started muttering while laving attention at his neck cables and just grabbed the former Decepticon's helm and brought it up for another kiss, offering his mouth and lips for the taking. If Megatron wanted to blow off some steam with Optimus after Sumdac had torqued him off, then he was going to do it by way of pleasure, _not_ useless complaining that had the dangerous possibility of ending in a Fusion Cannon being fired at a helpless organic. Megatron, apparently, would also rather pay attention to his mate than Sumdac.

He would always rather pay attention to Optimus than anything else. He had lost his Prime once. He won't let it happen a second time. He was possessive and overprotective and a secret worrywart and Optimus was perfectly fine with that. Cybertron was at peace, those who would upsurp them have finally been dealt with accordingly, their people were happy and rebuilding their old lives, the Galactic Council only occasionally bothered them, his friends were safe, Earth was safe and his spark was as content as their god's and as his mate's.

Optimus had never believed in a happy ever after, like from Sari's fairytale books and movies, but as Megatron picked him up and moved them away from the wall beside their room's door and towards their big berth, he guessed he could believe in not a happy ending, but a happy beginning.

The lost Prime and his Lord High Protector who had searched the universe to find him and bring him home ...

Their lives were only starting now.

**THE END**


End file.
